Chloe
by Draconious
Summary: Chloe developes psychic powers, a robot rampages, and Clark learns more about his past. Summaries suck!
1. School days

Chloe (working title) Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: This is my First Smallville Fanfiction. It is set somewhere in the first season. Clark doesn't have heat or x-ray vision yet. Chloe and Lana are not yet friends. This will be AU, as the story will rapidly deviate from Smallville Canon.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, if I did there would be an episode with a pool party at Lex's house, Lana and Chloe invited. Until I do, we await season 3 with baited breath.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Chloe Sullivan climbed aboard the school bus and threw her schoolbag into a seat. She pushed it against the window, then sat her head in her hands and sighed. She wished she could drive to school in her new car (new to her anyway) but Freshman weren't allowed to drive to school.  
  
Sitting up, she ran a hand through her feathery blond hair. Chloe shook her head, unsuccessfully trying to fight off a yawn. She had stayed up until 2 in the morning researching a story about the misuse of school funds by certain school administrators, and in her excitement had forgotten about the need to sleep. Now she was paying the price.  
  
The bus bounced and slid on the poor quality road. Skidding to a stop in front of a house, the doors opened to allow Clark Kent on the bus. Of course, as usual, Clark Kent was nowhere to be seen. The door crashed shut and the frustrated bus driver slammed on the gas.  
  
Clark Kent. Chloe's best friend. He had missed the bus so frequently that half the time, the driver forgot to stop at his house at all. When he was on time for the bus, he usually had to run after it. A smile lit up Chloe's face as she thought of her friend. His dreamy blue eyes, his dark wavy hair, and his perfect smile. Not the mention the few times she had seen him without a shirt. wow. She shook off the sensation as she realized the direction such thoughts were going. *Down Girl.* Unfortunately, Clark had eyes for only one person, and it wasn't for his best friend Chloe.  
  
The bus passed a big house on the left side of the road. A tall, beautiful girl with long brown hair was getting into a truck with a ruggedly handsome blond guy. *Lana Lang.* Chloe frowned at the thought. With her exotic good looks, long lustrous hair, and athletic body, she was undoubtedly the dream girl of many of Smallville's teenage male population. Unfortunately for Chloe, she was also Clarks.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe stumbled off the bus and into the crowd. Looking around, she hoped to see Clark and wasn't surprised to see him coming out of the cafeteria.  
  
"Hey Clark. Miss the bus again?" she asked.  
  
"Hey Chloe. Yeah, my alarm didn't go off. I swore I set it last night." he trailed off as his eyes focused somewhere behind Chloe. She didn't want to look, but she turned anyway and saw Lana, talking to her boyfriend Whitney Ford. Whitney was the Quarterback for the Smallville Crows, and as such was usually considered a "catch" by most of the girls. Chloe personally thought that he lacked in personality. Lana kissed him on the lips, then ducked into a classroom.  
  
"Clark?" Chloe asked. A few seconds later, Clark shook himself out of his daydream. Chloe was frowning at him, her brow furrowed.  
  
"What?" he asked. He gave her a smile that innocently melted her heart and she couldn't stay mad at him for long. Still, it would happen again, the next time he saw Lana.  
  
Whitney walked down the hallway and accidentally (or maybe not) bumped hard into Clark. He gave Clark a look, then continued on his way.  
  
She shook her head and said, "Come on, were going to be late for Algebra."  
  
**********  
  
Clark sat in his seat and turned to look at Chloe as Mr. Wallace began preparing the days lessons. He took in her soft blond hair, her cute nose and pursed lips. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a yellow sweater, but for all the world, he couldn't tell what was different about her. The last few days, he had begun noticing things about Chloe, things he had never noticed before. The cute way she bit her bottom lip when she was thinking hard. The way she played with her hair when she was nervous. He also noticed her in other ways.  
  
~Cue Flashback~  
  
They were working late on the newest edition of the Torch, and Chloe finally hit save and print. Clark went over to the printer to retrieve the first printed edition of the paper. He turned to hand it to Chloe, just as she began to yawn. She raised her arms above her head as she stretched, causing her T-shirt to rise, showing some of her tummy, flat and firm.  
  
Clark stood transfixed at the sight. She continued to yawn, oblivious to him. He had always thought that the stomach was a very attractive part of a girl, but he had never really thought of Chloe as a girl before. Now he was faced with some undeniable evidence that Chloe was, in fact, a young woman. He noticed how her breasts rose when she stretched (when did she get those??) and could even smell her perfume. He was staring uncontrollably when she stopped yawning and looked at Clark.  
  
Chloe was confused. Clark was staring at her with that weird look, one normally reserved for Lana. "Clark?" She asked. She apparently startled him out of his daze because he blinked rapidly and turned away from her.  
  
Clark was so embarrassed. Caught staring at Chloe like some of the Jocks did with the Cheerleaders. and now he had a problem. Self control was always a big deal with Clark, something his father had taught him. However, some things are uncontrollable, especially when looking at an attractive woman. Unless he wanted Chloe to see how much he had liked staring at her, he needed to find a way out of there.  
  
"Chloe, I'll see you tomorrow. I need to get some sleep." He said as he grabbed his bag and made for the door, carefully keeping turned away from her. He ran down the hall and headed home.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
Since then, things had been a little strained. Clark was caught flatfooted by the fact that he suddenly found Chloe incredibly attractive. However, he didn't want it to ruin their friendship. He counted Chloe as one of the closest friends, and he wasn't sure he could give that up, especially for a relationship that might only last a few months.  
  
Still, she was gorgeous. Lana still had the primary place in his heart, but when he closed his eyes to think about the girl he "loved" images of Chloe were starting to appear along with Lana Lang.  
  
There were quite moments in their conversations when he was alone with her, where there was no sound. He could hear her breathing pick up and he could smell her perfume. When it occurred, his heart would start racing and he would feel a little dizzy. He would usually need to get out of there, and had been making some excuses to spend less time with her than normal.  
  
Class was over quickly, and Clark had barely heard a word of Mr. Wallace's presentation. Chloe and Clark exited the classroom and separated to go to their classes, Clark giving her one last lingering glance. She didn't notice it.  
  
Chloe was confused about the way Clark was acting. Lately he seemed a little uptight around her. Clark Kent was always secretive, but recently he didn't seem to joke around with her as they had used to. And then there were the occasional quite moments where she felt the urge to kiss him. He used to be oblivious, or worse, thinking of Lana, but recently. She turned to look at him as they left class and saw him rounding the corner. *So handsome.* She shook her head in frustration and turned to enter the bathroom.  
  
**********  
  
Clark was passing a wall of lockers when he heard a commotion coming from around the corner. He slowly approached, trying to recognize the voices.  
  
"Lana, what's the big deal? It's just a party, for some of the guys. Why are you making a scene?" he asked.  
  
"Whitney, its our anniversary. We've planned to see this play for the last 3 weeks. The tickets cost me 50 dollars! And you want to cancel to go to a party for one of your linebackers?! Don't I mean anything to you?" she asked, tears in your eyes.  
  
"He's going to college this fall and this is his last year on the team. Everyone wants to wish him well. Of course I have to be there!" he said. He didn't add that some of the guys had hired some strippers and he had to see the action.  
  
"Fine. You go by yourself. I won't be there." she said, anger forcing her to be brief. She reached in her pocket and threw something on the ground before storming off. She didn't see Clark around the corner. Taking a peak, he saw Whitney picking up two tickets that were ripped in half, presumably for the play. Beside them was Whitney's Class ring, which she had been wearing as a necklace.  
  
**********  
  
Lana was storming through the halls towards her next class. She couldn't believe Whitney. They had been going out for a little over 3 years now, and for the last 6 months it had felt like he had been taking her for granted. She was tired of feeling like an accessory to the Quarterback.  
  
And the party! She had heard the rumors. Trey Scott, the wide receiver, had allegedly hired 4 strippers from Metropolis to come to the party. At first she didn't believe the rumor, until everyone started clamoring about it. Suddenly it was the biggest party of the year.  
  
Lana normally would have been at any party, but the idea that Whitney only wanted to go to see those women take off their clothes repelled her fiercely. Did their relationship mean nothing? They had planned this weekend for weeks!  
  
As her eyes began tearing up again, she turned towards the ladies room. She tried to get a hold of herself and clean up her makeup while she was alone. It was hard as she kept crying.  
  
She started when the toilet flushed. She had thought she was alone. She tried to look normal as the door opened and a familiar blond came out of the stall.  
  
"Hi Chloe." Lana said, trying not to sound like she had been crying. She failed. Her makeup was running down her cheeks, and her eyes were getting puffy.  
  
"Lana, what happened?" Chloe asked, trying to seem sympathetic, not joyous at seeing the head cheerleader brought down a notch. Lana tried to say nothing was wrong, but then the whole story came spilling out. Chloe slowly started feeling genuine sympathy. She knew that Whitney had seemed a little flaky, but this was a whole new level.  
  
"And you know the worse part? I've seen this coming for the last 6 months! His eyes have been roving, he's been spending a lot more time with his friends. They've even been drinking a lot of alcohol. I feel like I've wasted 3 years of my life with him. I wouldn't even be a cheerleader if it wasn't for Whitney joining the Football team!"  
  
Chloe jumped at this. She had always judged Lana to be a little Barbie beauty queen. If cheerleading was just a sham, did anyone know who the real Lana was like?  
  
"Maybe you just need to get back to the real you." Chloe said. "You've spent so much time being 'Whitney's girlfriend' you've forgotten who Lana is."  
  
Lana nodded, smiling beneath her messed up makeup that she was quickly removing. "Your absolutely right. How did you get so smart?" Lana was reapplying her makeup, trying to cover up evidence of her crying. She turned to Chloe.  
  
"Chloe, how come you and I never hang out? We've know each other for years, but we've never really gotten close."  
  
"We've been in separate worlds Lana. I've been at the Torch, and you've been on the field." Lana nodded, then said her good-byes and left the restroom. Chloe looked in the mirror, comparing herself to Lana. *Even in tear streaked make up, she's prettier than I am.*  
  
TBC..  
  
**********  
  
Authors notes cont: First chapter of my fanfic without a real title. It will definitely revolve around Chloe, hence the working title. I hope someone out there liked it! Please review! Next chapter posted soon.  
  
Draconious 


	2. Basketball Fun

Chloe (working title) Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: This is my First Smallville Fanfiction. I apologize for details I get wrong, but I'm making this a bit AU, so any changes are. Purely intentional.. I swear.. I didn't mess up. I swear. Stop it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, if I did there would be an episode with a pool party at Lex's house, Lana and Chloe invited. Until I do, we await season 3 with baited breath.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Chloe walked into the lunchroom and scanned the crowd. She saw all the football players huddled around one of the tables, and she could overhear them talking about "party" and "ladies". *This must be the infamous stripper Party everyone's talking about.* She looked around more, but didn't see Clark and Pete.  
  
Sitting at a smaller table by herself was Lana. She wasn't with the other cheerleaders for some reason. *Probably ousted for breaking up with Whitney.* Chloe nodded to herself and walked over to Lana's table.  
  
"Anyone sitting here?" she asked.  
  
"Apparently breaking up with someone as popular with Whitney is bad for your reputation. Are you sure you want to be seen with me?" Lana replied.  
  
"Trust me, being seen with you couldn't harm my image at all." She said with a smile.  
  
"So where's Clark?" Lana asked, trying to make small talk while eating her salad.  
  
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since 1st. He's been acting kinda weird lately."  
  
"Clark, weird?" Lana asked with a straight face. Chloe looked at her to see if she was joking, but slowly they both smiled and then started laughing. They were quickly becoming unlikely friends.  
  
"Chloe, I know it's not normally your scene, but will you come to the game this Friday? It's the last game that I'm going to be cheering at, and I want some friends there."  
  
"Last game?"  
  
Lana nodded. "I'm quitting the squad. Recently they've all seemed so shallow, and the fun is gone. I joined both for Whitney, and to be closer to my mother."  
  
"How does being a cheerleader make you closer to your mother?" Chloe asked, confused.  
  
"My mother was a cheerleader. It makes me feel like I'm with her if I do some of the stuff that she enjoyed."  
  
"Lana, but then you stop being you.. and start being her. I think you'd be happier just trying to be yourself." Chloe argued.  
  
"That's the conclusion I came to as well, and that's why I'm quitting the squad. Maybe I'll find another activity I like, or maybe I'll get a job."  
  
"Who's quitting the squad?" Clark asked as he came around the corner. He stopped when he saw Lana, because she was always with the cheerleaders. Then he looked at Chloe with that penetrating gaze again and then sat down.  
  
"Hi Clark," Lana said.  
  
"Clark, Lana's quitting the squad." Chloe replied to his question.  
  
"Why? I thought you loved the squad." He asked, always concerned.  
  
"It's just not the same lately." She said as she ate some salad.  
  
They continued to eat and make small talk. Chloe talked about the paper and the article on School Funds she was writing. Lana asked if she could maybe write some articles. Chloe gave her an appraising look, before telling her yes.  
  
Clark was torn between looking at Lana and Chloe. He tried looking at Lana, but she wasn't her usual radiant self. She looked tired, and kind of sad. Chloe was looking quite attractive, her fluffy sweater hiding her feminine figure that 3 days ago Clark would have pled ignorance to. He was looking at her when Lana looked at him, confused by his attention being on Chloe instead of herself. (Lana is a bit self-centered.)  
  
Chloe looked up and caught Clark looking at her. She blushed and looked back down at her packed lunch of leftover takeout, a small smile creeping onto her lips. She looked back up into Clark's beautiful eyes.  
  
"Clark, what are you doing this Friday?" she asked.  
  
"I have some chores, but I could get them done early. why?"  
  
"I was planning to go to the football game. a mandatory sports article for the Torch. I could use some emotional support?"  
  
Clark smiled. Chloe melted. "I'd be glad to go. We need to ask Pete too." Lana caught Chloe's grimace when he mentioned asking their friend Pete to their "Date." Clark was, of course, oblivious.  
  
"Ask Pete what?" he asked as he showed up, turning the corner and skidding to a stop. "That's. different. Hi Lana, welcome to Clark's table, population 3. or is it 4 now?"  
  
Clark made room for his friend on the bench and mentioned the game on Friday to him.  
  
"No can do, buddy. I've got a date with Miss Teresa Duston for this Friday." Everyone looked impressed. Teresa was a sophomore who most guys drooled over. She was very hard to get hooked up with, or so the rumors went.  
  
"Okay Chloe, looks like it's just you and me." Chloe smiled at Clark's remark, and Lana felt strangely jealous at the way she was looking at her friend.  
  
**********  
  
Clark was doing some of his chores, hoping to get caught up before Pete came over to shoot some hoops. He was carrying bales of hay up to the storage shed for use over the winter. In a hurry, he was carrying eight bales piled atop one another, where his father had trouble carrying two.  
  
He had just sat down the load and started stacking it properly when he heard a noise behind him. He turned to see Lana Lang, decked out in her riding outfit, cowboy boots and hat included. Clark gulped at the vision of her, and then shivered at how close she was to seeing him carry more than 500 pounds of hay like it was a load of groceries.  
  
"Hey Lana." Clark said. She laughed, and only then did he realize the joke. Looking down at the load he had been carrying he said, "Ha- Ha. I didn't mean Hay Lana." He smiled. "So what can I do for you?" he asked, smiling again.  
  
"Oh, I was just out riding and decided to stop by and say hi. We see each other so little, and honestly, I've gotten a little tired of being alone since Whitney and the cheerleaders think I have the plague." Clark stiffened at the mention of Whitney, but continued stacking his hay.  
  
"I thought you were hanging out with Chloe today." He mentioned.  
  
"She cancelled. Said something about interview the School Superintendent about the School's financial crisis. She was in a hurry."  
  
"Well, that's Chloe for you." Clark smiled at the thought of Chloe. Her beautiful face aglow when chasing down a new lead, regardless of the danger that Clark would have to protect her from.  
  
He finished stacking up the hay, and turned to head back to the baling machine, where the rest of his hay was awaiting him. Lana turned to walk with him.  
  
"Clark, what do you think about us spending some time together. I think that we could be good friends. now that certain over jealous boyfriends are out of the way." Lana said, walking in front of Clark. Clark took in the view of her tight cowboy jeans and smiled.  
  
"I'll have you know that I currently have no jealous boyfriends standing in our way of being friends!" Clark quipped with a smiled. Lana just stood still for a second smiling before she got the joke. She laughed, then jumped on top of the bales of hay piled up next to the baler.  
  
"If you don't get off the bales of hay, I'll never get my chores done," Clark said with a smile. "And I won't get to play basketball with Pete."  
  
"Oooh, two handsome guys getting sweaty playing basketball?" Lana jumped off the bales. "I hope you guys have fun." She went to find her horse. "Oh, Clark?" she said as he picked up 2 bales, "Maybe I'll be back to see you guys play, ya know, after I brush down my horse."  
  
She smiled to herself and rode off, Clark's gaze lingering on her retreating form. He then stooped to pick up another 4 bales and ran quickly (rather slow for him, actually) to the storage shed. He was done with chores way before Pete arrived.  
  
**********  
  
Pete jumped for the ball, blocking it and dribbled the ball back to the "half court." He made a jump shot and the ball swished through the net. "Alright, I win. Wanna play HORSE?" Clark nodded, and took the first shot from the right corner. Pete duplicated it.  
  
"Did I miss the game?" came a lovely voice. Looking up, Pete saw a vision. It was really Lana, but he was sure it was really a vision. The day had really heated up, and she was wearing cut off jean shorts and a bathing suit top. She was carrying a lounge chair.  
  
"No, we're just playing HORSE." Clark said as he turned. His jaw dropped and the ball bounced away unattended. Lana was wearing a black bikini top and cut off shorts, and was setting up a lounge chair in the sun. Pete was making grunting noises as he tried to remember the English language.  
  
He finally got to "Clark I." when Lana unbuttoned her jean shorts and slid them down her long legs, revealing the matching bikini bottom. Now Pete and Clark were both grunting, trying to work some moisture into their suddenly dry mouths.  
  
Spreading a beach town down on the lounge chair, she sat down and started to spread some suntan oil on her arms. "I thought I'd work on my tan while I watch you boys play," she said as she worked the oil in. She looked up to see both guys trying to keep their eyes in their heads. "Weren't you guys playing HORSE?"  
  
Clark stared as he tried to get oxygen to his brain. He was taking deep breaths and it didn't seem to be helping. Pete looked as though he was about to pass out, but he bent over to grab the basketball. He tossed it to Clark, who caught it and went to the free throw line. He took the shot and made it. Pete did the same, and then Clark missed on a shot from way out because as he was about to throw Lana started applying oil to her chest above her top. The ball went wide. Way wide. And kept going. It was a good thing no one was paying attention. NBA players couldn't throw the ball that far.  
  
After they snapped out of it, Clark ran to get the ball and they continued playing, with Pete eventually winning. Clark kept getting distracted at critical moments. Hours later, Pete decided it was time to leave. The sun was going behind the clouds, so Lana started getting her stuff together too.  
  
Clark said goodbye to Pete and was watching him drive down the road when he noticed Lana come up beside him. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "It's been fun Clark. We'll have to do it again some time." She started walking down the path towards her house when she whispered under her breath, "Maybe next time I'll wear my small suit."  
  
Behind her, still dribbling the basketball, Clark heard her whisper. She hadn't intended him to hear, but then again, his hearing was a bit better than most peoples. He lost the ball again as she spoke to herself, and had to go chasing after it as it rolled down the hill.  
  
TBC.  
  
Authors Note: I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Will Lana get Clark? Will Chloe be making a play before its to late? And who will win the football game (as if anyone cares!)  
  
Stay tuned, same Smallville time, same Smallville channel!  
  
Draconious 


	3. The Football Game

Chloe (working title) Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: This is my First Smallville Fanfiction. I appreciate everyone who has already reviewed. Its true that reviews are the food that keep the Muses happy. I'll try to keep writing at a good rate, while hopefully not getting fired in the process. (I write during slow times at work!) Here's the next chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, if I did there would be an episode with a pool party at Lex's house, Lana and Chloe invited. Until I do, we await season 3 with baited breath.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Friday had come and Chloe was preparing for the "date". Clark was supposed to arrive early and they were going to take her car to get a bite to eat. Then to the game to support Lana, hopefully kiss Clark a bunch, and then see where their relationship was headed. Chloe smiled at her plans, hoping things went that way.  
  
As all girls (warning: blatant stereotype ahead), Chloe was having trouble picking what to wear. Normally she could care less what other people thought about the way she dressed, but this was a date with Clark! Her first outfit was a skirt that she decided was too revealing. The next had a shirt that was cute, yet incredibly irritating to the skin. She didn't want to be itching all night.  
  
She finally settled on a comfortable (and flattering) pair of jeans and a tight T-shirt that was not too revealing, though she had refused to wear it to school because it was a little too tight. Comfortable with what she had picked out, she headed downstairs to discover that Clark had arrived and was sitting in uncomfortable silence with her father in the living room.  
  
Clark couldn't understand why it was so hard to make small talk with Mr. Sullivan. They'd known each other for years. Even talk about the Crow's season had fallen on deaf ears. He was acting as though instead of taking his daughter to a football game, Clark was taking his daughter to a football game - for a date. *Oh my god, he thinks we're on a date!*  
  
Chloe came down the stairs and walked over to Clark.  
  
"So, are you ready to go?" she asked. She smiled and reached for his hand, pulling him towards the door.  
  
Mr. Sullivan said "11:00 Clark, just like we said."  
  
"Yes sir." Clark answered, a little confused. He was about to ask Chloe about her father when she stopped, stood tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. As they continued walking to her car he reached up and touched where she had kissed. "What was that for?" he asked.  
  
"Just because." She replied. Clark looked at her, awed. She was, of course, astoundingly beautiful, but what surprised him this time was that she looked happy. Very happy. Suddenly everything fell into place. Her father, the cheek kiss, her clothing.  
  
*Chloe thinks we're on a date, too. Wait, maybe we are on a date, and I just didn't notice.* Clark took a deep breath, let it out, and got in the car.  
  
"So where did you want to go eat?" he asked her. She smiled at him.  
  
"Where ever you want to go. I was thinking about the Bistro on the corner of Main." Clark nodded as Chloe started her yellow car and they glided out of the driveway.  
  
Clark turned to look at Chloe while her attention was on the road. She was wearing a very tight pair of jeans that were probably quite hard to get into, as well as a T-shirt he was sure she hadn't worn in the last 3 years. *If there were any doubt about Chloe being a woman, this would surely have cleared that up* he thought. He lifted his gaze to her face and started when he realized that she was wearing makeup, something she did very rarely. Thin lip-gloss made her lips kissable, and her makeup was appropriately applied, unlike some of the girls at their school. They thought more was better.  
  
Chloe glanced at Clark when they came to a stop behind a turning car. He was gazing at her with Lana eyes. She smiled to herself. *Take that Lana Lang* Her smile got bigger and she hit the gas after the car turned left.  
  
**********  
  
They entered the Bistro and took a table for two in the non-smoking section. The waiter was going to pull Chloe's seat out, but Clark beat him to the punch. The waiter shrugged and took their drink order. After deciding what they were going to have, Clark stretched his arm out and took Chloe's hand, without quite thinking about what he was doing. She smiled at his action, and clasped his.  
  
They made small-talk for awhile, and Clark asked her about her story. She was almost finished with it, and it was sure to make the education board take notice. The one thing they didn't talk about was the fact that Clark was still holding Chloe's hand, and had started stroking it with his thumb, quite unintentionally.  
  
Chloe wasn't sure what was going on, but she was sure that if Clark continued to rub her hand like that, she was going to jump his bones in the car for a major makeout session. Luckily their food arrived and they had to let go of each other's hand.  
  
They were finishing eating when the waiter brought them a New York style Cheesecake dessert to share.  
  
"We didn't order this!" Chloe said. Clark nodded agreement.  
  
The waiter turned to her and smiled. "Compliments of the house. It's so rare that we get a young couple in love, and it makes the manager happy. Enjoy."  
  
He turned and walked away. Chloe looked at Clark in horror, her face beat red. Clark just smiled and cut off a piece of the cheesecake with a fork. He held it out towards her and she smiled, leaning forward. She took the cheesecake into her mouth, using her tongue to get some of the strawberry sauce off her lips.  
  
Clark sat there, staring at Chloe eating the cheesecake off his chilled fork. His body temperature was rising and for the second time in a few days he was sure he couldn't get up around Chloe.  
  
Chloe picked up her fork and cut off a small piece, then picked up the strawberry that was on the plate. She ate the bite of cheesecake, then licked the strawberry lightly before taking a bite, sucking on it with her lips.  
  
Clark finally snapped out of it and began eating some of the cheesecake, doing his best to ignore Chloe, who was having a ball turning eating cheesecake into the most sensual experience of her life. She was even starting to make light moaning sounds, all in appreciation of the flavor of the cheesecake, Clark was sure. He blushed and looked around at the other patrons, who studiously ignored them.  
  
Clark paid the bill for their dinner, but Chloe insisted on leaving the tip and buying the tickets for the game. Clark's upbringing told him he was supposed to pay for everything on what was rapidly turning into a date, but Chloe wasn't hearing anything about that.  
  
As they started getting in the car, Clark opened Chloe's door. She smiled, then slowly leaned forward to kiss him on the lips for the first time. She smiled shyly, then got in the car. Clark did so as well, then they drove to the game.  
  
**********  
  
Parking in the over crowded parking lot, Clark jumped to open Chloe's driver side door and got another small kiss as a reward. Clark was all smiles as they walked towards the ticket booth. Chloe paid for the tickets, just like she said she would.  
  
They entered the bleachers and looked for a good place to sit. They found a spot relatively clear of debris and wasn't to crowded. They sat down and watched the game start, while holding hands.  
  
"Chloe, I .." Clark started to say. "Clark, let.." Chloe said at the same time. They both laughed, and Clark brought Chloe's hand up to kiss, only realizing what he did afterwards. Chloe smiled.  
  
"Chloe, this date has been great. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am." He said, a smile on his face and his eyes almost glowing.  
  
"Clark, it's been like a dream. I keep waiting to wake up, or for you to go running off to save someone."  
  
"I'm not going anywhere." He answered. She smiled and they kissed. It started as a small kiss, then lasted a little longer. Chloe touched Clark's lips with her tongue and then they were French kissing.  
  
After they broke away, Clark hesitated, then asked, "Chloe, aren't we going a bit fast?" She smiled before answering.  
  
"Clark, I've waited a long time for this to happen, I'm in no mood to take it slow." Clark smiled and they watched the game some more.  
  
It was almost half time when Chloe decided that she was getting thirsty.  
  
"Clark, I'm going to go get us some popcorn and drinks, okay? You want soda, right?"  
  
"Yeah." He gave her a longing glance as she walked away to the concession stand.  
  
**********  
  
Clark was waiting for Chloe to return when a voice beside him startled him.  
  
"I startled the unshakable Clark Kent? I didn't know that was possible." Clark turned to see Lana sit next to him in her Cheerleading Uniform.  
  
"Aren't you suppose to be on the field?" he asked, looking past her for Chloe.  
  
"Its break time, and I thought I'd visit my friends. So did you like what you saw?" she asked, staring deeply into Clark's eyes.  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah, you're doing great." He continued to look for Chloe, hoping she didn't get upset about Lana. He had come to realize how much of a jerk he had been around her when it came to Lana.  
  
"Clark, didn't you even see me wave to you?" She clearly thought that he was here to see her.  
  
Suddenly, Clark had an epiphany. Lana was spending so much time around him, her behavior when she was sunbathing during their basketball game. She was trying to hit on him! (Clark is sometimes quite dense! Duh!)  
  
"Look, Lana. I like you a lot. For a long time, I had a crush on you, but.."  
  
Lana cut him off. "Clark, I like you too. That's what I've been trying to tell you." She leaned forward and placed a heavy kiss on him, almost sitting on his lap.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe was returning with a Jumbo tub of popcorn and two colas when she looked down the aisle and saw Clark in the throws of a passionate kiss with Lana. Her eyes turned hard and she dropped the tray holding their food. She turned and stormed towards the parking lot.  
  
**********  
  
Clark broke off the kiss, as soon as he recovered from what was going on. "Lana, I'm sorry. I've liked you for a long time, but I'm. Chloe and I are kinda an item right now."  
  
Lana looked shocked. She didn't think that Chloe would actually make a move on Clark. She was proud of her in a friendship sorta way. She was upset that Clark had turned her down though.  
  
"Oh, okay. I understand. I hope you guys are happy with each other." Her voice was kind of high keyed, and Clark could tell she was upset and was probably gonna cry. She had been through a lot lately. She stood up and ran towards the field.  
  
"Lana.. Come on, its not like that." He said, going to follow her, until he saw the food littering their aisle. "Chloe!" Looking around, he didn't' see her anywhere. "Chloe!" he shouted. A couple of people hissed at him and told him to be quiet.  
  
Clark ran as fast as he could (for a normal human) to the parking lot, but Chloe's car was already gone. He looked around, but couldn't see it. Well, he knew where she lived, he would have to explain.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe drove at breakneck speed though the crappy roads, heedless of the danger. She was so angry she was seeing red. "Lana Lang, I finally get what I want and she comes around and steals it out from right under my nose. If I could, I would kill her. Oh, she makes me so angry."  
  
Chloe's car swerved wide on the somewhat slippery road, but she still didn't slow down. "Clark, why did you do it? I thought we had something special starting. I dunno, I could be wrong. How can I compete with Miss Cheerleader anyway?"  
  
The car raced around a corner and she saw the taillights of a large tractor- trailer on the road ahead of her. She began slowing a bit.  
  
"And Lana. I thought we were becoming friends? What kind of friend steals another's man right out from underneath them? You knew I liked Clark, you knew it and you still took him. Uhhh!" She hit her steering wheel and honked her horn at the slow Semi. It had "Luthor Chemicals" printed on the back of a tanker trailer, as well as the standard "Hazardous Chemical" and "Biohazard" warnings.  
  
She hit the gas and sped up, trying to pass the truck. She was halfway past it when the road started to swerve to the left and the truck took it wide. It couldn't even see the little yellow car.  
  
The Tanker came close to her. And closer. She slammed on the breaks as the tanker swerved in front of her. There was breaking glass and grinding metal, and Chloe passed out.  
  
When she came to, she was hanging from her seatbelt. The car was on its right side, with the windshield bashed in and the console all broken. A pipe from the tanker was pushed through the windshield and was draining a green fluid into her car. She noticed the car was rapidly filling up, and soon it was up to her legs.  
  
She struggled with the seatbelt, but the latch was damaged in the crash and she couldn't get it undone. The green fluid looked very familiar. When she looked closely, she noticed it seemed to glow in the darkness a bit.  
  
"Meteor rock. Liquid Meteor rock!" She screamed for help and struggled with her belt, but it wouldn't let her go. The fluid rose to her chest, and she had to struggle to keep her face above the liquid.  
  
She realized that the car was tilted, and if she could open the passenger door, she could drain the stuff and she wouldn't drown. She took a breath, cringed, and pushed herself into the fluid, stretching for the door handle. If she could just reach it. Almost.  
  
She needed another breath. She rose her head, and there was no air. The car was filled up.  
  
She panicked, and then reached for the handle again. Almost. As she faded out, sucking the biohazardous fluid into the delicate tissues of her lungs, she saw her arm, held outstretched towards the door handle, a good foot short.  
  
Outside, the truck driver was calling for 911 on his cell, before trying to go check on the girl. He was amazed to see the car crumpled up on its side, wedged between his trailer and the guard rail. The outflow pipe from the trailer was speared into the car.  
  
"Oh my god!" he screamed as he ran to the trailer and started turning a valve, broken open in the crash.  
  
From here he could see the inside of the car, filled with a lightly glowing fluid. It was coming from the cracked windshield in little jets.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a "Click" and the passenger side door opened, a deluge of fluid washing down the road. As he peaked inside, he saw a young woman hanging from her seatbelt. She was clearly dead.  
  
TCB.  
  
Authors note: Cliffhanger. ain't I a bitch! Review if you want more!  
  
Draconious 


	4. Accident Aftermath

Chloe (working title) Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: This is my First Smallville Fanfiction. Everyone's upset about the cliffhanger, so here's the relief. I know most of the story up until now has been romance. Here comes the action/adventure. However, with Clark and Chloe, there's bound to be some romance still!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, if I did there would be an episode with a pool party at Lex's house, Lana and Chloe invited. Until I do, we await season 3 with baited breath.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Clark ran at superspeed down the road towards Chloe's house. He had to catch her and let her know that he liked her, not Lana. He had fantasized about Lana for so long, and then he found out that it was exactly that, a fantasy. Now that she was after him, he found that she was not what he wanted. Chloe was real to him, and he could see himself spending the rest of his life with her. He really wanted to let her know his secret, but he needed to tell his parents first.  
  
Rounding a bend in the road, Clark saw an accident involving a tanker truck and . that was Chloe's car! Clark ran at superspeed until he saw the driver of the truck, then ran at normal speed.  
  
"Chloe!" he called out. He ran up to the car, but surrounding it was a puddle of green fluid, some sort of chemical. As Clark approached it, he got the same feeling he did being around the Meteor rock. His skin waved and developed dark veins, and he stepped back, feeling weak.  
  
"The ambulance is on its way," the driver said. "We shouldn't move her in case she's hurt."  
  
Clark moved so that he could see inside the car. She wasn't moving. He stared, trying to tell if she was even breathing. Straining, suddenly, his eyes adjusted as though he was trying to see something far away. He was seeing through the car, into Chloe. He could see her ribs, and past that her heart and lungs. She wasn't breathing, and her heart wasn't beating. She was dead.  
  
"No!" Clark lunged at the car, stepping in the chemical and ripped the driver's side door open. He climbed up and reached inside, grabbing her. His hands almost sizzled when he grabbed her, as she was covered with the goop.  
  
Pulling her out, he sat her on some clear ground. "We need to get this stuff cleaned off her. Do you have a towel, or something?" The driver rummaged in the cab of the truck and came out with a fire extinguisher.  
  
"Its good old H2O. It should do the trick." Clark nodded and pulled the pin, squeezing the handle and washing the goop off of Chloe. "It's soaked through her clothes. You'll need to take them off her."  
  
Clark looked up at the driver, and he nodded and walked towards the truck. He reached towards Chloe's wet but mostly chemical free clothes and started trying to undress her.  
  
"Well Chloe," Clark said, trying to keep calm, "It's not quite what I had in mind when I thought earlier about trying to get you naked, but I'll take what I can get."  
  
Her shirt was very tight, and Clark ended up tearing the thin material to get it off, along with her bra. The denim jeans were impossible to remove wet, so Clark ripped them off as well, rinsing her body off was well as he could with the extinguisher, including her mouth. As soon as she was clean he moved her to some clean ground and started CPR, doing his best to be gentle.  
  
She still gave off the feeling of meteor rock, but it was very faint. Clark grimaced, but continued CPR. As the ambulance pulled up, Chloe coughed and threw up some of the green fluid. She started crying softly.  
  
"Chloe, Chloe." Clark said to her. "Don't ever leave me like that, please.. don't ever go." He wrapped a blanket from the cab of the semi around her naked body and held her to himself, trying to warm her cold body up.  
  
"C, Clark?" She opened her eyes to see Clark crying, holding her against him. "What happened?" she asked, trying to look around. She saw her car in ruins, goop still poring out of it. The remains of her clothes were a short distance away. Looking down, she asked, "Clark, why am I naked?"  
  
"It's a long story Chloe, just get warm okay. We need you better." Clark hugged her against him and kissed her on the back of the head, rocking with her.  
  
"What about Lana?" she asked, her voice sounding hurt without meaning it to.  
  
"There is nothing between me and Lana besides friendship. I was telling that to her after she kissed me when I saw that you had left. Chloe, please don't do that again, believe me when I say I don't know if I can live without you."  
  
She smiled faintly and pushed her head back against his chest. She felt very tired, and was having trouble breathing. Drowning can do that to you. She held his hand up to kiss it and noticed a weird pattern of dark veins running across it. They almost seemed to crawl across his skin as she touched it.  
  
"Clark, what's wrong with your skin?" she asked as she moved her hand across his arm, watching the weird veins move.  
  
"Shhhh. We'll talk about it when we get to my parent's house. They'll call your dad and let him know where you are." He repressed a grimace of pain. He loved her touch, but right now it was causing him pain.  
  
Just then Mr. Kent's pickup truck pulled up. Clark had had the truck driver call them when he was trying to revive Chloe. The EMT had checked Chloe out and proclaimed her okay, but recommended her see a doctor soon to make sure. The fire department began cleanup of the spill, but by then the truck was trundling towards the Kent's Farm with Clark in the back, his arms wrapped around Chloe.  
  
**********  
  
The truck pulled up to the front of the house and stopped. Clark helped Chloe out of the car and into the house. Martha came to see if they were alright.  
  
"Mom, she needs to take a shower. She has liquid meteor rock all over her. I tried to wash it off, but the fire extinguisher ran out."  
  
She took Chloe by the hand an led her up the stairs. Clark sighed and sat on the couch, and his father came in and looked at him sternly.  
  
"How much does she know?" he asked Clark.  
  
"Nothing more than usual, except that my skin is moving whenever she touches it. She was marinated in the liquid meteor rock. Dad. I think I love her. I think I have for years and have been afraid that she didn't return my feelings."  
  
Jonathan Kent looked at his son, and a slow smile crept onto his face. "It's about time you noticed. The poor girl has had a crush on you for years!"  
  
Clark blushed. "Dad, I'm going to have to tell her."  
  
He looked at Clark. "I know." Hesitatingly. "I just hope she's okay. Meteor rock is bad for anyone, but she actually breathed the stuff, drowned in it. We need to watch her, make sure she's okay. I'll go call her Dad, let him know she's staying the night with us." Clark nodded, and his father walked to the kitchen.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe stood in the shower, letting the warm water wash over her head, down her neck, and across her body. She should probably fear drowning, but to her it felt like the water was carrying away all the poisons that she drowned in, purifying her. Looking at the water, she did notice glowing liquid running down the drain. The soap and shampoo were used multiple times, trying to get as much out of her as possible. When the water ran cold, Chloe got out of the shower and wrapped as smaller towel around her hair.  
  
With both hands wrapping her hair up in the hair towel, she reached out and wrapped the big fluffy towel that Mrs. Kent had given her around her body. It was only when the towel was wrapping around her that Chloe looked into the mirror and screamed.  
  
Clark was there in 1 second, literally. He got a flash of a half-naked Chloe as a towel, of its own violation, wrapped itself around her.  
  
"Chloe, are you alright?? I heard screaming!" Chloe was shaking, clearly confused. She left the towel in her hair and reached for Clark, who took her in his arms. Around that time, Martha and Jonathan arrived, investigating the scream.  
  
"Clark, give the young lady some privacy. Your mother gave you better manners than that!" Clark moved to let go of Chloe, when she grabbed him with her arms.  
  
"No, you stay here. I don't want to be alone. I'm scared."  
  
Clark looked around. "Of what?" Jonathan was likewise confused.  
  
"Of this." With her arms wrapped securely around Clark, she reached for a hairbrush, not letting go of Clark. The brush obediently rose into the air and to brush her hair.  
  
"Ah, Chloe? Are you doing that, or do we have a ghost?" Martha asked.  
  
"I just reach for it like I would with my arms. but my arms are doing something else at the time, so something.. else picks it up."  
  
TBC..  
  
Editors Note: So, whatya think? Chloe and Clark together, but there are still weird things going on. And what about the Monster of the Week? You know he's gonna have to stick a head in sooner or later. assuming of course that Chloe is not the monster of the Week. hahaha.  
  
Draconious 


	5. Breakfast at the Kent's

Chloe (working title) Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: Everyones excited about Chloe having powers. Many people don't want her to become the "Freak of the Week" but we'll see what happens.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, if I did Clark would have told Chloe the secret by now, and they would kiss frequently.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Chloe went down the stairs from the Kent's guestroom. It was early in the morning, but she could hear Mrs. Kent cooking breakfast, the smell of frying bacon and pancakes permeating the air. It made her smile. In her family, it was cold cereal or a pop tart, usually at 11:30 on a Saturday.  
  
Stumbling down the last three stairs, she turned to see Clark sitting at the table nursing a glass of orange juice. She smiled nervously, aware that she had bed hair, and most likely morning breath.  
  
"Hey." She said. Perkiness comes after coffee.  
  
"Hi. What do you want for breakfast?" Clark asked.  
  
She sniffed the air and replied, "The pancakes smell great. Anyone making toast?" Clark pointed to the bread and butter.  
  
"That's my job, after I make the sausage. I've already toasted a few pieces before I got the sausage started. They just need to be buttered."  
  
*Wow, everyone helps with breakfast. It must be nice having an actual family.* Chloe thought. "I'll do it." She sat in front of the bread and grabbed the few slices that Clark had already toasted. She grabbed the butter and a knife to butter them, but then decided to put new bread into the toaster first. She put the slices into the toaster, then turned.  
  
"Chloe." Martha was looking at her pointedly. The knife was buttering the finished toast on its own accord. She looked at it with a grimace and the knife clattered to the tabletop. Chloe put her head in her hands.  
  
"It happens subconsciously. I don't try to do it. So far, I've only been able to do it on purpose twice." Chloe was definitely upset.  
  
"I know, but it will take time to learn to control. It always does." Martha patted her back consolingly. Clark just nodded as he was working on the sausage.  
  
"You say that as if you have had experience with 'weird powers' before." She looked up to see Clark handling the hot cast iron pan without a potholder. "Clark!"  
  
He looked up. "What?" He looked down at the pan and smiled, sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. Ow, Ow, Oww! I forgot it's hot.." He waved his hand like it was really hurt, then picked up a potholder and resumed making the sausage.  
  
Chloe just blinked at the display. Martha patted her back again and said, "Its all part of the talk we have to have after breakfast." Martha walked over to the back door and opened it, sticking her head out.  
  
"Jonathan! Breakfast!" She yelled.  
  
She pulled her head back in and picked up the plate of sausages that Clark had cooked. She was carrying it towards the table when she accidentally tripped over the throw rug, which had gotten messed up. She caught her balance, but the plate went sailing towards the floor.  
  
Then the plate sailed back up and landed lightly on the table, all sausages accounted for. Chloe blinked at the plate, then smiled. "I need to learn to control that! As long as I don't become an insane killer, this isn't all bad. I could have done without the drowning, though." She continued making toast, without the use of "invisible hands".  
  
Clark patted her hand as he sat beside her. His hand momentarily wavered, showing the dark veins as he touched her. He flinched from the slight pain. The effect was wearing off, it was not as strong as it was when he extricated her from the car.  
  
Jonathan opened the kitchen door and walked over to the table, sitting down with a sigh. He grabbed a plate and started stacking some pancakes on it, followed by sausages and bacon. He grabbed some of the toast that Chloe had made, adding it to his breakfast.  
  
Chloe's eyes goggled at the amount of food Clark and Jonathan were getting. "I guess it's true what they say about country guys? They're always hungry?" They both looked up, smiling. Martha brought over a plate full of scrambled eggs from the stove, sitting it on the table. "I've never seen a breakfast with courses before."  
  
Chloe ate the delicious food for about 30 minutes, while Clark and Jonathan continued for another 20. Martha had brought out hashed browns, danishes, and ghetta, which Chloe had never heard of before.  
  
"Martha? What time did you wake up to start making all this?" she asked, gesturing to all the food. The table was littered with half-empty plates, some of the dishes scraped clean.  
  
"4:30. You get used to if after awhile. With this group you have to or else breakfast would be at noon!"  
  
**********  
  
Clark watched Chloe help his mom clean up the dished while he continued eating some sausage and eggs. He wasn't really hungry, but he was using the time to debate how he was going to tell Chloe about his origins. It would be a difficult discussion.  
  
Shortly thereafter, Clark decided any more eating would result in him bursting, so he gathered some dishes and carried them towards the sink. He brushed against Chloe, smiling at her as he put his dishes in the pile. Looking back, Jonathan had left the table and was sitting in the living room in the recliner.  
  
"Come on guys, its time for the talk." Martha led Clark and Chloe to the living room. Martha and Chloe took a seat on the loveseat while Clark chose to pace, only sitting on the floor next to Chloe when he received a stern look from his father.  
  
Jonathan started off.  
  
"I guess the best way to start would be at the beginning. It was the start of Fall, in the year 1989. Martha and I were together, married, and we had the farm. Everything was looking fine, except that the doctor had told us that, unfortunately, Martha could never bear a child."  
  
"It broke our hearts to think that we would never have a child of our own, but very soon we were considering adoption. We could still be good parents for someone."  
  
"Then came October, and that fateful day. Martha and I were headed back to the farm after a trip into town when the meteors started falling. One hit the road in front of the truck and we crashed. I don't remember much about that."  
  
Chloe had heard the story of the meteor shower from many people, but not from Clark's parents, and she had a feeling it was more important to them, somehow.  
  
"We woke up in the truck, upside down. Outside the window was a little boy, maybe 2 or 3, running around naked. We managed to get out of the truck and Martha wrapped him in a blanket we had under the seat. We were trying to find our way out of the devastation when we found it."  
  
Martha interrupted. "We'll show it to you later. It makes a lot more sense when you see it."  
  
"See what?" Chloe asked.  
  
"The pod. The ship that Clark arrived in."  
  
**********  
  
"I assure you, Mr. Gromwell, it will be ready in time for the demonstration. We'll have all the kinks in the power system worked out and all the algorithms in its processor core working. We'll have it 100% field testable in 2 weeks."  
  
The nervous man in the white lab coat continued to talk into the phone.  
  
"Absolutely. I understand, personally responsible. Yes sir. I look forward to your arrival, sir. Bye-Bye."  
  
He slammed the phone down and turned towards his creation.  
  
On the table rested a mechanical monstrosity, a bipedal robotic warrior. It stood 5 and ½ feet tall, was made of shiny titanium alloy, and had numerous built in weaponry systems. Most importantly, this creature was not created to run remote control.  
  
It was alive.  
  
Not in the way humans are, breathing and breeding, but it could make decisions, devise plans, and think strategically.  
  
Its only problem was its power supply. Its processor core and weapons systems took large amounts of power to operate, not to mention the servomotors for its limbs. Traditional batteries just hadn't kept up.  
  
But now that has been taken care of.  
  
The man in the lab coat opened an access hatch in the lower back of the creature. Inside, he removed a bright yellow pack the size of a brick. Out of a lead storage unit he retrieved the new battery. Black polymer, with a clear panel and a red activator button. He connected the battery leads, placing the brick sized battery into the robot. He pressed the button, and the window revealed a bright green glow.  
  
TBC...  
  
Authors note: I decided that making Chloe the FOTW would put a damper on my Clark/Chloe ideas, so I made a new beastie up. Hope you don't mind cliffhangers.  
  
Review please! It makes my fingers want to write!  
  
Draconious 


	6. Destroyer

Chloe  
  
Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: Well, soon Chloe will have to start back to school. How will she deal with hiding her powers? And how will Lana react to her and Clark being an item? Lets see!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, if I did Clark would have told Chloe the secret by now, and they would kiss frequently.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Chloe walked up the stairs, blinking her eyes at the bright sunlight.  
  
*Well, there goes my fantasies about making out with Clark in the storm cellar when he is supposed to be doing his chores. The presence of an ALIEN SPACECRAFT kinda ruins the mood.*  
  
She was still in shock. She hadn't really believed the Kents about Clark being from outer space until they had shown her the ship. It was too detailed to be fake. It wasn't made of wood and plaster, or even aluminum plate. She had no idea what it was made of, but it wasn't of this Earth.  
  
Then a thought occurred to her. *What does this have to do with "getting used to new powers". And what about Clark not getting burned by the pan?*  
  
Chloe waited until everyone was out of the storm cellar and the doors were securely latched before she asked any questions.  
  
"Clark, your mom mentioned that it would take me awhile to get used to my powers, and that it always takes awhile to get used to new powers. What did she mean by that?"  
  
Clark looked stumped for a moment, unsure how to respond. Then his face lightened and he had an idea.  
  
"Chloe, you know how you always wondered how I made it to school on time after missing the bus?" he asked.  
  
She nodded, looking at him. Then he wasn't there.  
  
"This is how." She jumped. Clark was standing behind her. She hadn't seen him move. He was just there, and then he wasn't.  
  
"Wow." She was stunned. He moved faster than a car could drive! Faster than a plane, faster than. a speeding bullet.  
  
Jonathan jumped in. "We were stunned when he turned 4 and was out racing the truck. We knew he would be special, but this was unexpected. The next thing he developed was his strength."  
  
Chloe looked at Clark, appraisingly. "His strength?"  
  
Clark stepped up to an old tractor that the Kents had replaced years ago. It was overgrown with weeds and rusting to ruins. He grabbed a secure handhold and lifted.  
  
Chloe watched Clark life what looked like 1000 pounds without really straining.  
  
Jonathan continued his narrative. "Of course, he wasn't this strong when he was little, thought he did lift the back of the truck to retrieve a ball. We were of course shocked."  
  
Chloe looked at Clark, his muscles hidden underneath his typical flannel. He didn't look like a pro wrestler, but his muscles were built somewhat differently.  
  
"This summer was when things started getting really strange. Clark's skin is starting to get really. tough. It's still soft to the touch, but it can't be broken. We had to fake his vaccination forms because a needle can't break his skin!"  
  
"I'm can't be burned, stabbed, or cut. I'm not sure about being shot, but I'm not in a hurry to test it." Clark said.  
  
"Wait." Chloe was remembering something. "I remember you bleeding though. Recently too."  
  
Clark nodded. Jonathan took a deep breath.  
  
"That would be because of the meteor rocks. Clark crashed along with them, and for some reason, he reacts to them."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Well, kinda like when you touch him now, only 100 times stronger. It makes him weak, nauseous. He has trouble standing. We think if he's around it long enough, or enough of it, it would kill him."  
  
Chloe stood still, thinking. "Lana's necklace." Clark blushed and wouldn't look at her directly. "All that time we thought you were clumsy because of your crush and you were in fact exposing yourself to something that made you deathly ill?"  
  
Clark came over to hug her. "No!" He stopped. "You'll hurt yourself on me!"  
  
Clark just smiled and hugged her. "It's not that strong anymore. You seem to be washing it off. It hurt really bad when I pulled you out of your car, but by now you're not so bad."  
  
She leaned back against him.  
  
"Oh, and now there's the x-ray vision." Clark said.  
  
His parents looked at him. "X-ray vision?" his dad asked.  
  
"It just started yesterday, when I was rescuing Chloe. I could see through the car, and then through her to see if she was injured. I couldn't really control it. Guess that will take more time."  
  
His parents just looked at him, aware of just how Alien he was.  
  
Chloe looked at him, smirking. "X-ray vision huh? So what am I wearing under these jeans your mom lent me?"  
  
Clark looked at her, concentrating. He couldn't get it to work.  
  
"Sorry. I think I'll get a headache if I try too hard right now."  
  
They had continued to walk toward the house while talking. As they approached the door into the kitchen, Chloe said, "Wow, compared to you, my telekinesis is rather. ordinary." As she said that, the kitchen door opened.  
  
"Hey, I did it! I was trying on purpose and it worked! Woo hoo!"  
  
Clark and Chloe went upstairs to talk while Jonathan and Martha went into the living room.  
  
After closing the door, Clark turned to Chloe, sitting next to her on the bed.  
  
"Chloe?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah Clark?"  
  
"Thanks for not freaking out. You know, after finding out that I'm not from around here. I had dreams of you turning me in to be studied to get the big scoop for the Daily Planet."  
  
She hugged him. "I would never do that to you. I ." He nodded against her.  
  
"Don't say it until your ready. I understand." She smiled, thinking how great he was.  
  
"And Chloe?" He hesitated. "You're not wearing anything under those jeans."  
  
She pulled back and hit him in the shoulder, then rubbed her hand where it hurt.  
  
"The boxer shorts you mom gave me were way uncomfortable. How do you guys stand them anyway?" Clark smiled and they kissed, then laid on the bed and kissed some more. and some more.  
  
**********  
  
##Two Weeks Later##  
  
"System online." A technician said, checking a terminal.  
  
"Standby for power up." A lead tech said.  
  
"Standby" the first replied.  
  
"Power up." the lead tech proudly pronounced.  
  
"Powering up. Systems at 100% capacity."  
  
"Engage simulation." the lead tech commanded.  
  
"Simulation Engaged. Activation in 3.. 2.. 1.. Activation."  
  
Mr. Gromwell smiled, chomping on his unlit cigar. *The Destroyer has arisen.*  
  
In the simulation lab, there was a high pitched whine that disappeared into ultrasonic frequencies.  
  
With a slow start, the large robotic weapon lumbered from its pedestal. Sitting up slowly, it made its way to its feet.  
  
*** Beginning Diagnostics***  
  
-Memory--- Complete.  
  
-Processor Core--- Complete.  
  
-Servomotors--- Complete.  
  
-Actuators--- Complete.  
  
-Offensive Systems--- Complete.  
  
-Defensive Systems--- Complete.  
  
***Diagnostics Complete***  
  
-All Systems Operational  
  
*** Beginning Simulation***  
  
The robot stood at attention, its scanners detecting EM radiation in the infrared, but they were designated as "Allied". Scanners then detected others designated hostile and rose to its feet. Shifting its weight to better suit the terrain, the robot began confidently striding towards the target.  
  
A wall separated the robot from the "Hostiles." Sheet rock and cinder block made a poor barrier for defense. The Destroyer activated its targeting monocle and sighted the infrared signal. Its right arm rose, and from its titanium enclosure extended a long rifle barrel. It paused to aim and fired.  
  
Mr. Gromwell smiled as cameras showed the cinder block wall break as the Destroyer fired is 50mm cannon of a rifle through the wall, destroying the decoy's head. He watched as it took aim at the other decoy, letting another single shot end the simulation.  
  
***Simulation Terminated***  
  
-Return to Pedestal  
  
***Return Mode Engaged***  
  
The robot shift its weight and turned around. It stomped towards the pedestal and climbed ungainly onto it. It lay in the recharge position and stilled.  
  
***Recharging Cycle Engaged***  
  
-Power down systems--- Completed  
  
-Shutting down core--- Completed  
  
-Deactivating Offensive Systems--- Incomplete  
  
-Deactivating Defensive Systems--- Incomplete  
  
***Recharging Cycle Initiated***  
  
The lead tech that was supposed to be watching the status monitor was talking to Mr. Gromwell animatedly about the possibility of an army of Destroyers bringing peace to the Middle East, and didn't see that anything was wrong.  
  
The party celebrating the success of field test of the Destroyer lasted long into the night.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe was sitting on the couch in Clark's loft, waiting for him to come up after doing some late night "super chores". By doing them in the dark, Clark could use his powers and finish much faster than any other time of the day. He was supposed to join her after taking a shower. She was idly using her powers to fly a paper airplane around and around her head.  
  
She had gotten a much better handle on her powers since the accident two weeks ago. She had been practicing, with the encouragement of Jonathan and Martha, and had formulated the way she thought her powers worked.  
  
She had two arms, which she did stuff with, like most other human beings. However, when she needed to, she could make up to five additional "arms" to do things with, just like she could her regular arms. She could flip pages in a book while typing on her laptop without having to move from typing.  
  
The phantom arms had a range of about the same length of her arms, so she couldn't move stuff all the way across the room. If she concentrated really hard, she could make on arm go about 10 feet, but it took a lot out of her.  
  
Also, she couldn't seem to make more than five arms. When she tried, the first would disappear, stopping whatever it was doing. If she tried concentrating on the first one, one of the others would disappear. It seemed that she couldn't divide her attention that many ways at the same time.  
  
She made the plane do a flip in the air when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She called out, "Is that you Clark?"  
  
"Its Lana, Chloe." Chloe threw the airplane with her 'arm', making it appear it had been flying the whole time. It sailed across the room and out the window, barely missing the telescope.  
  
Chloe sat up, pasting a fake smile on her face. "Lana, I haven't seen you for awhile." Lana nodded, gingerly making her way into the room.  
  
"Clarks.. taking a shower. He shouldn't be up for awhile, if you wanted to come back."  
  
"I actually came to see you. Your dad said you were staying here since your accident. I wanted to see how you were doing."  
  
"Nice of you to wait two weeks before checking on me." Chloe let slip out, before covering her mouth, not believing she said that out loud.  
  
"I deserve that.. I know I do. I tried to come over a few times, but couldn't make it into the loft. If you were with him, I didn't want to intrude."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence as Lana settled herself on a stool.  
  
"So, how are you doing? There's lots of rumors going around school, that your back was broken, that you have brain damage, even one that you drowned in the river after having the accident." Lana asked hesitantly.  
  
"I'm alright. Still sore, a couple of bad bruises." Chloe trailed off.  
  
Chloe didn't look that bad to Lana. She was dressed in a sleeveless blue shirt and a pair of cut off shorts. She looked a lot more comfortable with herself than she usually did. Being with Clark was good for her, she decided.  
  
"Chloe, I just wanted to let you know that I'm not upset. I'm actually proud of you. It took guts to finally approach Clark, and I'm glad that you're happy together. I guess I was a bit jealous at first, after just realizing how great a guy Clark was, and I was loosing his interest as soon as I began returning it. I guess I was on the rebound from Whitney. I just didn't want this to come between us, or between me and Clark. Still friends?"  
  
Chloe hesitated, and the more she waited the more Lana spilled her emotions across the room. Chloe walked over to Lana.  
  
"Still friends." She said as she hugged Lana, as both girls started to cry.  
  
Clark took this moment to walk up the stairs, a towel wrapped around his hair, which was still wet. He saw Chloe, hugging Lana, on his couch.  
  
"Man, I must have hit my head and now I'm dreaming. Chloe and Lana hugging? No way am I awake."  
  
Both girls laughed and stopped crying. They grabbed Clark and started to tickle him, which was easy to do, as he was shirtless. Lana's breath increased as she realized that he was only wearing cotton boxer shorts as he was drying off his hair.  
  
*Just how far has their relationship gone??* she thought to herself with a raised eyebrow. She stopped tickling Clark as Chloe kissed him, slowly and softly. She backed off and went to look out the window.  
  
Jealous and attraction raced through her as she took deep breaths of the clear night air. This situation had been entirely too comfortable, and now she was uncomfortable with the comfort of the situation. (What a sentence!)  
  
Chloe and Clark stopped kissing and sat up, and they started talking about what they had missed in school. Some breakups, a fight, and a teacher rumored to have relations with a student were the highlights.  
  
Eventually, Lana decided to go back to Nell's, leaving Chloe and Clark alone on the couch.  
  
"So where were we?" Chloe asked with a grin  
  
Clark laid his head against the pillow and Chloe began kissing him again.  
  
**********  
  
Above the lab, a ventilation shaft opened and a figure in black clothes was lowered by cable into the room. He reached for access panel for the experimental battery he was told was there.  
  
***Proximity Alarm Triggered***  
  
-Emergency Startup  
  
*** Beginning Diagnostics***  
  
-Memory--- Complete.  
  
-Processor Core--- Complete.  
  
-Servomotors--- Complete.  
  
-Actuators--- Complete.  
  
-Offensive Systems--- Complete.  
  
-Defensive Systems--- Complete.  
  
***Diagnostics Complete***  
  
-All Systems Operational  
  
*** Tactical Scan Initiated***  
  
A red light on the large metal robot lit up, scaring the intruder. He hesitated, and because of that, he failed to pull the battery as fast as he should.  
  
***Tactical Scan complete***  
  
-1 Hostile detected---begin neutralization  
  
*** Attack Scenario #467543-1 ***  
  
The robot rolled towards the intruder, falling to the floor with a metallic clang. Quickly raising to its feet, it reached out with its metal arms and grasped the neck of the Hostile. A quick jerk ended the danger.  
  
*** Tactical Scan Initiated***  
  
***Tactical Scan Complete***  
  
-No hostiles detected---  
  
***Warning: Recharge Cycle Incomplete - Engage Recharge Cycle***  
  
A flash of green light came from the battery, and the red sensor light on the robot's head turned green for a moment.  
  
***Warning: Recharge Cycle Incomplete - Engage Recharge Cycle***  
  
-You have 15 seconds to Comply.  
  
***OVERRIDE 2396845-2129 #49***  
  
***Override Accepted***  
  
The robot stood, stepping over the dead body of the intruder and pushed open the door to its laboratory. Looking down at the blood on its hand, it turned towards the sounds of the celebration coming from the Cafeteria.  
  
**********  
  
Clark and Chloe walked down the halls of Smallville High. They were holding each other's hands, much to the surprise of the student body.  
  
Chloe was wearing flaring bellbottom jeans that were in style 3 years ago. No one wore them now, which was exactly why she was wearing them. Her shirt was a red silk that accentuated her curves.  
  
Clark was looking down any guy whose gaze lingered on Chloe for too long. He was very overprotective of his new romance, and wasn't about to risk its destruction at the hands of some freshman who found Chloe's new wardrobe choices attractive.  
  
Clark and Chloe rounded the corner towards their lockers and saw Pete talking to Lana. Pete had decided to go for it, trying to get Lana to go out with him, now that it was clear to him that Clark wasn't going to go there.  
  
Lana could clearly see where Pete was trying to go with his conversation, but since Clark had started going out with Chloe, she had been lonely. With the exception of the session in Clark's loft with him and Chloe, Lana hadn't had much excitement. *And that excitement brought up way too many questions I'd rather not ask right now.* she thought, her eye turned to Chloe as she walked down the hall towards them with Clark.  
  
"So guys, up for a double date?" Pete asked. Chloe nodded and everyone made arrangements to go out that Friday, plans to be discussed.  
  
**********  
  
The lead tech was on his 5th martini when he heard the crash from the laboratory. He was on his way towards the lab when the door crashed in and the Destroyer walked in. He was fully activated and not under any programmed mission parameters.  
  
The music stopped and the techs approached wearily, slowly, to see what the malfunction was.  
  
They were the first to die.  
  
Screaming could be heard miles away, or would have been if the lab wasn't soundproofed.  
  
Blood ran across the white floor tiles into the inset drain as the Destroyer made his way out the delivery entrance of the complex.  
  
TBC.  
  
**********  
  
Authors note: I am trying to make the "Destroyer" seem dangerous and unstoppable, while keeping it in frame with Smallville and not Superman, or Justice League levels. Bear with me, and please review! 


	7. Back to School

Chloe  
  
Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: Chloe and Clark rule. I thought I'd tell you just in case you didn't know.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, if I did Clark would have told Chloe the secret by now, and they would kiss frequently.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Chloe sat in Mr. Wallace's algebra class for the first time in 2 weeks. Nothing much had changed, except for the fact that she grinded against Clark this morning before school, and the fact that she could now move things with her mind.  
  
Overall, things were looking up.  
  
She turned her head to look at Clark, aware that he was looking at her. She smiled when she saw that she was right. She then ran her tongue across her lips. Clark stiffened in his chair, and Chloe grinned knowing that she had made him react against his will.  
  
Turning back to the board, she tried concentrating on Algebra.  
  
**********  
  
Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Chloe had caused a reaction all right. Of course, this morning's intense make out session in the loft hadn't helped much, either. Chloe was wearing a long purple floral print dress that made her look almost angelic.  
  
Clark couldn't resist. He focused his eyes and concentrated. His vision zoomed through Chloe, allowing him to see through the clothes of the guy in front of her. He was wearing boxers with Spongebob Squarepants on them.  
  
*Ah, too far!* He tried pulling it back and saw Chloe's skeleton, then focusing he saw her without her dress. She had smooth flawless skin, taught with nice muscles underneath, not an ounce of fat to be seen. She was wearing a purple bra and matching lacy panties. *I didn't know she had those. I wonder if she wore them for me?* She turned to smile at him again, and he jumped, wondering if she somehow knew what he was doing.  
  
Clark couldn't work up the nerve to x-ray other girls, though Chloe knew about his powers, so he felt she was fair game. They had been teasing each other the last few days, using their powers against one another.  
  
*********  
  
Chloe turned to peek at Clark. Though she couldn't feel if he was undressing her with his eyes (literally!) she could tell by his body language that he was doing just that.  
  
With a smile, she reached out with an 'arm' and caressed his chest though his shirt, then the 'hand' slid down, only to fade away as it reached the waist of his pants. With a smirk, she knew that she had taught him a lesson.  
  
Class ended pretty quickly and they funneled out of the classroom. Chloe gave Clark a nice kiss and then headed towards the Torch. Her paper was put in the hands of her assistant James, and it had gone all out of whack since she was out.  
  
Clark turned to go to gym class. He couldn't wait for this Friday to come so he and Chloe, Pete and Lana could have some time together as couples. He caught up with Pete, who was in class with him.  
  
"Hey Pete. Did you and Lana talk about this Friday?"  
  
Pete walked beside him, heading for the locker room. "Yeah, she though we should go to one of the big Ciniplexes in Metropolis and catch a new movie. The ones we have here are all 4 months old."  
  
Clark nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll have to ask my folks to see if I can go for an entire day. and ask Chloe, of course."  
  
Clark smiled at the thought of being in a dark theater for 2 hours with Chloe. Then he quickly got dressed before gym class began.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe walked into the Torch to find the place a mess. There was stuff everywhere, papers on the floor, empty food cartons on the desks.  
  
"James!" *Where is he, I'm gonna kill him!*  
  
She came across him lying on the floor. He was lying in a pool of blood, his eyes flickering. She resisted the urge to scream when she heard a noise behind her. She turned to see an older man, wearing a ripped T-shirt and dirty blue jeans. He had a wrench in his hand with blood on it and the little lock box that the Torch kept its funds in.  
  
**********  
  
Clark was climbing the rope in class with Pete when his vision suddenly went x-ray. He couldn't control it, force it to go back to normal. Looking up towards the ceiling, he saw Chloe being confronted by some biker looking guy. He had a bloody wrench in his hand and there was a body already on the floor. "Chloe's in trouble." He said, so that only Pete could hear. He dropped off the rope, slowing his descent by grabbing it, than ran out of class.  
  
"Clark! Mr. Kent you get back here! Where are you going!" coach called.  
  
Pete shouted, "He said he was going to hurl." Then Pete touched the red flag and started making his way back down the rope.  
  
**********  
  
"Where is the key?" he asked, motioning towards Chloe with the wrench. "Where is it, bitch!" he yelled, taking a swipe towards her with it. Three drops of blood flew threw the air and landed on Chloe's face.  
  
Her eyes narrowed and everything started to turn red.  
  
"You dare to enter my office and hurt my staff!" Papers started flying around as though there were a strong breeze. "You invade my space and start making demands! You made a mistake coming here!"  
  
Clark arrived in super speed in time to see the conflagration.  
  
The man, spooked by the flying papers and the noise the girl was making went to take a swing at her with the wrench. It stopped in the air a foot from her head with a clang, like he had hit a stone wall. The pain from the vibrations made him drop the wrench.  
  
She was staring at him like a bug. He was really starting to get worried.  
  
"Get out! Get out now!" He approached, taking a swing at her with his beefy fist.  
  
Chloe could somehow feel his punch coming at her, slowed down like he was moving in slow motion. She couldn't move like Clark did. but her 'arms' could.  
  
By the time his punch would have landed, he was struck in the face 8 times by an invisible force he couldn't understand. It felt like he was fighting a crowd, not a little girl.  
  
Chloe then somehow made all of her 'arms' work at the same time, striking him with so much force he flew though the air and out the broken window that he had entered from.  
  
Clark entered the room, reached for Chloe as she started to break down. She was crying gently as he held her, making soothing sounds.  
  
"I was so scared.. " she cried. She was upset at her self for sounding like Lana.  
  
"I know.. I always am when I fight. But at least you did it. You defended yourself and you did it well. We need to call 911 for James." Clark picked up the phone on Chloe's desk and made the call. He then called the Principal's office to let them know. He showed up a few minutes later.  
  
"Mr. Kent, what the heck happened in here!" he demanded.  
  
"I came to see if Chloe was okay when I heard the scuffle. I ran in just in time to see him fall out the window."  
  
"Ms. Sullivan?" he asked.  
  
"Uh, uh.. he knew that I had called the police and panicked, trying to climb out the window. Then he fell?" she said.  
  
He looked at her, clearly not believing it, but the EMT's arrived and they started working on James. They loaded him on a stretcher and took him to the hospital for a possible concussion from the blow.  
  
The police took the Motorcycle thug away. They found some Angel dust on him and figured he was hoping to score some money to buy some more drugs. James just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.  
  
After observing them to make sure they were all right, the Principle let them get back to class. It was now lunch period, so they headed to the cafeteria.  
  
**********  
  
Friday had finally come. After a few days of being shaken up from the attack, Chloe finally started coming out of it. She began preparing for the night's activities and after school quickly went to her room at the Kent's to get dressed.  
  
She picked out a white sweater to go with a really nice black skirt she owned. She put on some light makeup and then went to get Clark. He had traded his usual flannel for a nice blue dress shirt. Nice Khaki pants completed the outfit. Chloe thought he looked good enough to eat, and Clark was understandably confused when she reached for his hand and lightly bit it.  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" He lied. It didn't hurt and she knew it.  
  
"You looked good enough to eat, so I thought I'd take a bite."  
  
"Ha ha. Very funny. Well, let's go get Pete and Lana."  
  
They went out and got into a old red convertible that Chloe's insurance had allowed her father to get for her. Driving for a few seconds, they pulled up in front of Lana's house and were not surprised when Pete came out along with Lana. Clearly they had been spending some time together.  
  
Clark looked at Lana and saw. He smiled to himself. Lana had a hickey on her neck! He leaned over to Chloe on the premise of kissing her cheek and whispered in her ear. "Lana has a hickey on her neck.. Pete has been a bad boy!"  
  
Chloe barely kept the care from swerving. She was happy cause Clark didn't seem upset or jealous at all. He just seemed excited that Pete and Lana were getting along so well. She took a quick look in the rear view and certified that yes, there was a hickey. Lana had tried to cover it with some makeup, but she hadn't done the best job in the world.  
  
Pete was holding Lana's hand, more excited than he'd been in a long time. They had been seriously making out in Lana's house shortly before Chloe had driven over. Turned out that Lana had though him cute for quite some time, and now that she was free from Whitney or any chance of affection with Clark, she was willing to give in to temptation a little bit. Pete had no problems with this plan.  
  
Chloe reached out and grabbed Clark's hand and kissed it as they continued driving to Metropolis.  
  
**********  
  
The car pulled into the parking lot for the Regal, a classy Cineplex that was showing the "chick flick" that Chloe and Lana had picked out. Pete and Clark had agreed to see it as they were mostly going to be paying attention to their dates anyway.  
  
The guys escorted the girls to the theater entrance while trying not to laugh. The girls were not as successful at keeping from giggling. Everyone was smiling.  
  
They bought the tickets and choose some snacks, then went into the theater. They were sufficiently early so as to get some smooching time before the movie started. The showing of the movie wasn't very popular, so even when it started the theater was sparsely populated. Clark turned to Chloe, kissing her lightly as Pete was doing much the same thing with Lana, while trying to stay away from her sore hickey.  
  
The movie continued without anyone really seeing much of it, until the final credits rolled and everyone reluctantly got up from the theater. (In some cases getting up was a difficult proposition!)  
  
They made their way out to the car and decided to go find a place to eat as a group.  
  
**********  
  
They ate at an Italian place in downtown Metropolis. It was crowded, but mostly by teenagers like themselves, so it was comfortable. The ambiance was thick, and everyone was feeling romantic. There was much kissing and casual caresses as the guys shared a dinner with their dates.  
  
After eating, the group headed out to the car and started the long trip back to Smallville. Chloe kept thinking about how comfortable they were as a group, friends that had suddenly become a mixed pair, Chloe and Clark, Pete and Lana. She knew Clark still liked Lana a bit. Lana undoubtedly like Clark still. Pete used to have a crush on her, she wasn't sure if he did still, and she still thought that Pete was pretty handsome, himself. Theirs was a mixed up group, that was certain.  
  
Chloe even had to admit to herself that she thought Lana was pretty. She could understand how the guys liked her, after you got past her story about her "Parents tragic Death" (Sob!) Chloe had heard the story so many times she kinda zoned out whenever she started telling it.  
  
They made it to Smallville late that evening, and went their separate ways. Clark and Chloe, however, went to the loft for awhile.  
  
**********  
  
The 10:15 freight train for Smallville departed from Metropolis Freight Yards that evening. On the train was 1000 bags of seed, imported from another state, several pieces of farm equipment, shipments for the various stores in Smallville, two very dead hobos who had jumped the train, and one large silver war robot, running on stealth mode and trying to escape detection from its creators.  
  
Tbc..  
  
Authors Notes: Anyone have any comments about the way the stories going? I like how Chloe kicked butt! In case you couldn't tell, I've taken the traditional three way Clark-Chloe-Lana and opened it up a bit. Comment on what you think about it. If you dislike alternative pairings. hopefully you won't be too offended. Maybe some of you will even like it. (  
  
Also, the FOTW is getting closer to Smallville..  
  
Draconious 


	8. Nightmares

Chloe  
  
Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: Chloe and Clark rule. I thought I'd tell you just in case you didn't know.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville. It would be cool to own a successful TV show. Especially one with Allison Mack and Kristen Kruek starring in it!  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Chloe woke, her eyes looking around wildly. She had been having a nightmare about being trapped, she couldn't remember if it was in an elevator or a cave. Sometimes it included water rising up until there was no air left, just the pressure on her lungs, pushing her to take a breath. The nightmares had been reoccurring since her accident on the highway.  
  
She was supposed to be moving back in with her father tomorrow, and she didn't know if she would be able to handle it. The nightmares were really bad. Sometimes she was lucky if she got 5 hours of sleep a night.  
  
Sitting up, she grabbed her robe with a 'hand' and put it on. She slipped out of the guestroom and went to the kitchen to get a light snack. Sometimes eating something helped.  
  
She was sitting at the table eating an apple when Clark stumbled into the kitchen, blinking to clear his eyes.  
  
"Nightmares again?" he asked. She nodded as he grabbed an apple from the fruit basket. He grabbed a knife to peal his while Chloe just took bites of hers.  
  
"Do you think that they'll start getting better?" she asked Clark hopefully. He nodded to her. They ate their apples in comfortable silence.  
  
"Well, off to bed again. Hope I'm not keeping you up," she said. She went to her room and climbed into the bed, turning off the bed stand light.  
  
***********  
  
The train had pulled into the inspection station just outside Smallville. The security guard shined his flashlight down the length of the train, checking for hobos and vagabonds. Smallville didn't really have a problem with homelessness, but Metropolis did, and they occasionally got drifters who took a quick ride on a train while drunk. Usually they just held the homeless for the Smallville PD to take them into custody or put them on a train headed back to Metropolis.  
  
He noticed something dripping from one of the cars and moved to take a closer look. There was a steady drip of a fluid from one of the container cars, dripping onto the gravel. Shining the flashlight on the puddle, it looked like a hydraulic fluid. He radioed in the possible leak, then opened the door to take a look.  
  
The guard gasped as the coppery sent washed over him. Inside there were the mutilated bodies of some homeless men. He couldn't tell how many there had been, as there wasn't much left intact.  
  
He turned and gagged, loosing his lunch in the gravel. He didn't notice the green light start to glow in the car. As he was throwing up, a steel and titanium arm grabbed him by the head and pulled him into the car. A sickening crunch could be heard, and the blood dripped faster onto the tracks.  
  
Later the train would continue on to Smallville, none the wiser.  
  
**********  
  
Clark walked into Chloe's room (the guestroom was now unofficially Chloe's room in Clark's mind) quietly checking on her. She was sound asleep, her hair a little messed up and a small smile on her face.  
  
He smiled to himself and turned to leave when she made a noise in her sleep. She then turned, making little moaning sounds.  
  
Clark went over to her, sliding into the bed beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and she quieted down. The nightmare receded and Chloe fell into a deep slumber, her head resting on Clark's chest.  
  
**********  
  
Martha went up the stairs, looking for Clark. It wasn't like him to sleep in, and he was behind in his chores. Saturday morning was a busy day in the farm, with Clark off school, and they didn't have time to be sleeping for all hours of the morning.  
  
Opening his door, she prepared to tell him to wake up, but found his bed crumpled and slept in, but empty. Her brow furrowed in puzzlement. She turned to "Chloe's room" to check on her.  
  
She found Clark laying beside her, his arm wrapped protectively around her body. They were both sound asleep.  
  
Martha knew that Chloe had been having a lot of nightmares since the accident. Clark was probably just comforting her and fell asleep.  
  
She then saw Clark hug her closer to him and kiss her head in his sleep.  
  
*Right. Admit it Martha. Your little boy is clearly in love.*  
  
She left the door open a crack and went to fix breakfast, counting on the good country smell to wake the sleeping teens.  
  
*********  
  
The freight train coasted along its track, almost to its destination in Smallville. The track entered an area of dense forest, and the door to one freight car slid open. A wave of red blood drained from the open door as a silver gray hulk stood in the doorway. It appeared to hesitate for a moment, then jumped, landing in a small clearing as the train continued on its way to the Smallville railyards.  
  
Landing in the clearing, the robot turned towards the trees. It moved forwards silently, disappearing into the undergrowth. It left two deep gouges in the dirt of the clearing where it had landed.  
  
It walked for about 15 minutes before it found a secure location in a small cave. There is lowered itself to the ground.  
  
***Recharging Cycle Engaged***  
  
-Power down systems--- Completed  
  
-Shutting down core--- Completed  
  
-Deactivating Offensive Systems--- Completed  
  
-Deactivating Defensive Systems--- Completed  
  
***Recharging Cycle Initiated***  
  
The status led on its optical sensor package (its head) went from the green glow it had recently acquired, to the red glow it was originally designed with, then slowly faded out.  
  
Even though it was not attached to leads to recharge its batteries, it had systems that would allow the battery to regenerate some of its power, but it required several hours of inactivity to do so. During that time, the system was designed to find a place of relative safety where it was least likely to be discovered by enemy forces.  
  
Ten minutes into its recharge cycle, a eerie blue light began to emanate from the processor core. The processor core was a marvel of engineering, more compact and powerful than anything mankind had yet to produce. It had taken 5 years for the scientists to learn how to program the device and connect leads to it.  
  
It was much more powerful than they ever expected.  
  
The blue light emanated from a panel on the side of the core, which turned black, then a series of symbols ran across the panel. They were not in any earth language. They had never been seen before by any human. One symbol centered on the screen and stayed, the rest scrolling behind it. It looked rather like a stylized diamond, with an infinity symbol running vertically inside it.  
  
~749396q3259898erckjnkjdf9983743h2kajnkjd9f87392hla9083hi2hkajnd~  
  
*Translated computer jargon*  
  
Survivor detected. Relaying coordinates to 'primitive human mobility system'.  
  
~3590lkakn0985098okjadfijaonidf0akjner00293nl;akdjf0d845omlakdjf09gj~  
  
Analysis completed. Battery composed of 25% lead acid, 45% copper plates, 30% kryptonite.  
  
The computer from another world was worried, if it were capable of such emotion (which it nearly approximated). The scientists, looking to power the processor core with their primitive technologies had attached a kryptonite battery to it. The hazardous properties of kryptonite were well known by its creators, and it was having trouble taking control of the 'primitive human mobility system' the humans had built around its casing.  
  
It had regretfully watched as it had unwillingly slain the scientists that had given it power, the dirty humans it had encountered on the large tracked conveyance, and the security officer it had encountered there. It was only able to take over when the human-kryptonite programming went into recharge mode. It was essentially along for the ride.  
  
That didn't mean that it couldn't influence the rest of its 'body'. It had located the one being on this planet capable of helping it from its captivity. Giving the robot the desire to find this individual, the processor core could only hope that he was strong enough to stop the horrible acts they had been committing.  
  
The blue light ebbed, then faded away. The cave was pitch black, and inside its casing, an artificial intelligence hoped for escape from a robotic slaying machine.  
  
**********  
  
Yawning, Chloe blinked her eyes in the bright sunlight. A wonderful smell was coming from the kitchen, and her empty stomach was rumbling. She started to get out of the bed, but was tangled in something. Looking down, she saw an arm wrapped around her, and the hand belonging to said arm was holding her breast lightly through her T-shirt.  
  
Turning to follow the arm, she found it connected to Clark Kent. (She had hoped it was. Anyone one else would end up with quite the headache). She wondered how he had ended up in her bed, but she figured that's why she had slept so soundly.  
  
Leaning forward, she gave him a sensuous kiss on the lips. Clark moaned and began to kiss her back as he awoke, his arms pulling her against him.  
  
She regretfully pulled away.  
  
"Clark. We have to go eat breakfast. We can't stay in bed and play." Their relationship had not arrived at Sex yet, but they were in the neighborhood, circling their destination, looking for a parking spot.  
  
Clark regretfully released Chloe, and started to pull himself out of bed. They both stumbled down the creaky stairs to eat some breakfast.  
  
**********  
  
The green light atop the optical sensor package began to glow green again and the robot awoke from its recharge cycle. Standing, it systematically tested its weapon systems. The test satisfactory, it turned and made for the entrance for the cave. It knew where it was going, and it knew who it needed to kill.  
  
Tbc.  
  
Authors note: This one took awhile to write. It went through 3 rough drafts and I still wasn't happy how Clark and the robot came to blows. This was the nicest of the three and had plenty of Chloe/Clark fun in it as well. Hopefully another posting won't take so long. Please review and feed the Muse.  
  
Draconious 


	9. Fallen

Chloe  
  
Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: I have had trouble writing the rest of this story as life has intervened. Damn life getting in the way! Some reviews would go a long way towards feeding the muse.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville. If I did, I would get paid lots of money to write stories for the WB, wouldn't I? Where's my check? Huh?  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
The dart flew through the air at tremendous speeds, a small red self-guided missile. Behind it, two other red missiles and three blue ones flew in formation at high speeds. Their target was a teenage male wearing flannel, standing in the pasture of the Kent farm.  
  
Chloe was sitting on a stump, concentrating on Clark. It seemed the more she worked with her powers, the stronger they became. She and Clark had asked Martha and Jonathan if they could stay up late to practice in the dark of the Kent farm.  
  
Clark waited until the first blue dart was within range, then sped quickly to the left, the wind from his passage buffeting the darts. The lead dart lost its target, but Chloe concentrated and one of the red darts moved forward at remarkable speeds, faster than a bullet. It moved towards Clark, who was standing still again.  
  
To Clark, the darts were moving in slow motion. True, they were moving faster than bullets, but he was faster still. Bullets however, don't change trajectory in mid-flight, and this practice was quickly wearing him out. *Chloe seemed to have developed more stamina along with her greater range.* he thought.  
  
The red dart moved forward. Chloe was no longer watching with her eyes, as all she could visually see was blurs. But along with her 'arms' she seemed to have developed a rudimentary sense of sight that went with them. It made sense to her, as she had to see what she was moving somehow, without the use of her physical sight.  
  
Clark seemed to vibrate to her senses. Even standing still, he was bristling with energy. As soon as one of her missiles would approach, he would rush off with amazing speed in an unpredictable direction. She had a plan though.  
  
Clark dodged to the right this time. The red dart jetted past time, imbedding itself in a tree before Chloe could change it's course. Clark turned in time for the three blue darts to hit him in the chest.  
  
Chloe jumped from the stump, doing a victory dance. "Oh yeah. I'm bad. I beat Clark. Uh huh. Yeah." Clark smiled at her antics. She was wearing a light floral print dress and probably didn't realize what the dance was doing as the dress flowed around her figure.  
  
Clark smiled at her, giving her a small kiss. "I could have still won."  
  
"Oh, and how's that?" she asked archly.  
  
He focused on one of the darts, and the plastic bubbled and dripped as his newly developing heat vision melted it. He had started experiencing it 3 days ago, and now could make toast. Luckily, he didn't seem to have enough power to burn the barn down yet.  
  
"Well, yeah.. There's that, but then there's also this." She looked at him with focus and he was jerked off his feet. He flew 35 feet into the cornfield, leaving a deep gouge where he landed.  
  
Chloe came running over, looking into the gouge. "Are you alright Clark? I didn't mean to do it that hard! Clark?"  
  
Dirt exploded from the ground, raining all around as Clark came up behind Chloe. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground, abet lightly. Then the tickling began.  
  
"Alright I give! I give! I" She couldn't speak anymore due to all the giggling. They continued playing in the cornfield, kissing and tickling, unaware of their being watched.  
  
**********  
  
Standing 1000 yards away, crouched behind a split rail fence, was a large silver/gray war machine. Its sensors were very strong, and it could detect its hostile in the distance, along with a non-hostile. They seemed to be engaging in some activity the machine didn't understand.  
  
The machine stood approximately 5 foot 4 inches tall. It had broad shoulders, with titanium arms designed for much more pressure than a man could generate. It's arms had weapons built inside for many kinds of missions.  
  
It's body was plated with armor made of titanium alloy, one of the strongest metals made by man, with carbon fiber weave protecting other sensitive parts. It was both stronger, faster, and in many ways deadlier than man.  
  
From it's arm it extended it's 50 caliber rifle barrel. Perfect for hitting targets from a distance, the 50 caliber round caused lots of damage, but was very accurate. It sighted up with its target, and waited for the non-hostile to get out of the way.  
  
**********  
  
Clark gave Chloe a slow, passionate kiss. They had been rolling around like children in the corn stalks, their tickling contest slowly degenerating into something less ticklish. Chloe had corn husk in her hair, dirt on her face, and mud on her dress, but she had never looked more attractive to him.  
  
He grabbed her hand and began to stand up. And the world slowed to a standstill.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe loved it when Clark was childish like this. He had repressed his emotions around her for so long, that at times like this she felt that she was finally seeing the real Clark. She moaned lightly as Clark gave her a very passionate kiss, and then grabbed his hand as he began to stand up, helping to pull her up.  
  
And the world slowed to a standstill.  
  
A loud bang in the distance sounded like an explosion, and through the air came a very large caliber bullet. Chloe could feel it coming towards them, but her 'arms were not fast enough to grab it before it struck Clark in the chest.  
  
**********  
  
Clark pulled on Chloe's arm, anticipating a nice cuddle session in the loft, when he heard a loud gunshot, almost an explosion, and Clark looked up in time to see a massive bullet coming at him. It was moving faster than most bullets he'd seen, and tried to get out of its way in time. He failed.  
  
It struck him in the chest and the kinetic impact threw him 6 feet before he fell to the ground. While he had been shot before, and it usually hurt, this was different.  
  
A 50 caliber round can shoot through cinder block. It can shoot through the engine block of a car, even shoot through a supposedly bulletproof car.  
  
It almost shot through Clark.  
  
He had a massive purple bruise forming on his chest, which could be seen where his shirt was missing. It was even bleeding a little bit, and he was having some trouble breathing, probably a bruised rib. This scared Clark. Nothing hurt him.  
  
*********  
  
The robot sprang from its hidden position and ran towards that of his target. Anticipating a dead body, it was stunned to see the target sitting up. Advanced programming was momentarily taken by surprise, hesitating to make a decision.  
  
That hesitation was a mistake.  
  
As it brought up its right arm to take another shot, the target disappeared.  
  
**********  
  
Clark was rubbing his chest when the. Thing(?) charged though the corn towards where he and Chloe were sitting. It was large and silver/gray, with no obvious head. It looked like something out of Star Trek, or better yet, that Terminator movie.  
  
He was looking at it when it raised its arm towards him. He clearly saw the gun barrel embedded in its arm, pointing towards his chest.  
  
Clark moved, as fast as he could. He had the gun barrel in his hand and twisted, bending the barrel in a 45-degree angle. The gun fired, and smoke began seeping from the robot's right arm.  
  
It swung at Clark, a clawed hand ripping more of his shirt away. Clark's skin was unhurt, until the hand reached his wound. It hurt terribly and Clark flinched from its attack.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe was in shock. She had seen a lot of weird things in her time at the Torch, but this had to take the cake. Clark was fighting a Terminator looking thing right here in the cornfield.  
  
She was still sitting there when she saw the robot hurt Clark's wound. Anger turned in her stomach, and she struck the machine with a strong 'arm'. Panels shook on it, so she hit it again, harder this time. It was flung through the corn, hitting the ground. She turned to Clark to check on his wound.  
  
*********  
  
The robot climbed unsteadily to its clawed feet, once again confused in its mechanical way. The target was as strong, if not stronger than itself. And the non-hostile had somehow hit it without striking. The robot changed Chloe's designation to hostile.  
  
As it stood up and entered the battlefield, the lead barrier protecting its battery fell away, dented badly.  
  
**********  
  
Clark was anticipating the robots next attack, so braced himself. It walked back slowly, cautiously. As it got closer to him, he was overcome by a wave of dizziness. He wavered on his feet, almost falling over.  
  
From behind the robot came an unmistakable green glow.  
  
Chloe tried to help Clark stand up, worried about his wound. Could it be making him this weak? Turning to the robot, she saw the green glow of meteor rocks.  
  
The robot raised its left arm, and the smaller barrel of a machine gun extended from the back of its wrist.  
  
It fired, a multitude of bullets flying toward both of its targets.  
  
Chloe reached out, stopping around 12 bullets before her strength gave out.  
  
Six hit Clark, who jumped with the impacts, but nothing penetrated.  
  
The other bullets disappeared. Chloe was still looking at Clark when she felt a wetness on her chest. She looked down to see 4 red blossoms on her dress. She was confused because the flowers on her dress were blue, not red, as she fell down in her own blood, everything going black.  
  
The robot advanced on Clark, who appeared unconscious from the green glow.  
  
Tbc..  
  
Authors note: I'm evil.:) Chastise me with reviews if you want to see what happens to our favorite Heroine, and Clark too.  
  
Draconious. 


	10. Death and Rebirth

Chloe  
  
Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: This story is going much better than I ever anticipated. However, the problem I have now is the ending I wanted originally, is now just a crossing into either another chapter, or a sequel. You'll see what I mean at the end of this Chapter. Oh, and please review!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville. If I did, I'd have to be a Luthor!  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
*Pain. Intense pain. The world is spinning around and around my head.* Painfully, she opened her eyes. Tunnel vision restricted her view to a small area of the field where the robot had attacked. No one was there. She could feel her dress get more and more drenched, in her warm sticky blood.  
  
She could hear the stomping clanking as the robot walked towards Clark, with what seemed a deliberate slowness.  
  
Clark struggled to move, opening his eyes to see the robot approach him. He didn't know why, but he was as weak as he was when exposed to meteor rock. *That green glow* The robot must have meteor rock on it.  
  
He pushed himself up into a sitting position, scooting back on his hands to try to get away. He couldn't quite get himself to his feet. The robot came closer slowly, tauntingly.  
  
It raised its arm again, the left one with the machine gun in it. Clark didn't want to be shot again, or let it hit Chloe. He concentrated as hard as he could and his eyes focused, heat shooting at the robot's left arm. The gun, which he had been about to fire, started to glow red. There was a small explosion as the ammo that was encased inside went off, and when the smoke cleared, the robot's left arm was nowhere to be seen.  
  
**********  
  
It was about to shoot its midrange weapon when it mysteriously malfunctioned. The robot was now having problems operating its left arm. Running self-diagnostics took 3 seconds and revealed that the arm was now gone.  
  
If the robot was programmed to nod, it would have done so. It approached to melee range.  
  
**********  
  
Clark struggled to his feet, having finally gotten that much control over himself. Looking around, he saw Chloe on the ground, lying in a puddle of blood. "NO!" he shouted, running towards her. He gently rolled her over and saw the damage. She was bleeding from 4 bullet wounds. A quick x-ray showed that both lungs were punctured, as well as her intestines and liver. Bubbles were coming from the holes in her chest as she breathed.  
  
He wished that there was something he could do, anything he could do to save Chloe's life. He didn't know how to save someone this damaged other than running them to the emergency room, and with Chloe's wounds, he wasn't sure that would help.  
  
He heard the clanking behind him. His rage calmed to a coolness of pure murderous hate. He turned towards the robot, ignoring the weakening pain from the meteors.  
  
**********  
  
Chloe couldn't move a muscle. Perhaps her spine was damaged as well. When Clark rolled her over, she could see his concerned face, as well as the robot coming up behind him. Clark's face took on a look of pure hatred as he turned towards the robot. *Clark, look out for the rocks!* she thought. Her breathing was becoming labored as her lungs filled with blood.  
  
**********  
  
Clark swung at the robot, knocking it back, and then hit it with a right cross, knocking it back further. The meteor rock was taking affect, however, and each strike had less force than the one before. The robot took a swing, knocking Clark a few feet, and then another. It reached forward, grabbing the boy around the neck. It observed the black veins going across its target's face as it proceeded to squeeze the life out of him.  
  
**********  
  
In front of Chloe was her worse nightmare. Clark, fighting for his life and hers, and she not able to help at all. She could feel her heart slowing as the last of her blood drained from her and everything started going dark.  
  
The last thing she saw was Clark being hit by the robot. She could feel with her telekinesis still, and could feel the robot starting to choke Clark to death.  
  
Chloe forced her eyes open, pure willpower making her see her best friend and boyfriend dying fighting this monster. Her vision began to clear, and the blood seeping from her body stopped.  
  
**********  
  
The robot was squeezing the boy and didn't notice the girl dying a few feet away. If it weren't so busy not paying attention, it may have noticed her blood flowing back into her body, as if its draining were being played in reverse. Healthier skin tone appeared as the puddle of blood diminished. A strong wind began to blow, the trees nearby rattling as their limbs swung in the gale.  
  
Four bullets popped from her wounds to fall on the ground as they sealed themselves, leaving unblemished pale skin.  
  
Her near unconscious body lifted from the ground to float 3 feet off the ground. Her eyes opened lazily, lit from within by an eerie blue light. She was looking at the robot as it proceeded to kill Clark Kent.  
  
Her Clark Kent! It would not be.  
  
A disembodied voice echoed around the clearing. Deep and commanding, it was the voice of a god.  
  
"Release him."  
  
**********  
  
The robot looked up from its target. The female was somehow alive, and floating. Its programming didn't understand, so it resumed its activity, ignoring the distraction.  
  
A flash of lightning crackled, followed by deep thunder. The voice returned.  
  
"Release him now!" An unseen force pulled the boy from its grasp. Then it was struck. Very very hard. It flew 3 feet to the left, only to be knocked six feet to the right. It flew back towards the trees, crashing into and toppling 2 of them. It was raised to a height of about 10 feet, then propelled to crash into the ground at a high speed.  
  
Chloe saw as the robot struggled in her grasp the green light flash from behind it. She flipped the robot over, noticing the exposed battery without its lead cover.  
  
Using a portion of her telekinetic strength, she ripped the kryptonite battery out and threw it hard. It disappeared somewhere over the horizon.  
  
As the robot fell to the ground, so did Chloe slump, her power used up, unconsciousness claiming her.  
  
*********  
  
Clark was sure that he was dead. Everything had gone dark from being strangled, his head thumping with his heart. Then it was gone and he could breath. As he struggled to open his eyes, he saw the robot fighting an invisible foe and loosing badly. It was tossed all about the clearing, before its battery was removed and tossed out of range.  
  
Clark's strength began to rapidly return, but not before the robot regained its feet.  
  
*********  
  
*** Warning: Auxillary power activated***  
  
*** 3 minutes to automatic shutdown.  
  
*** Return for immediate repairs.  
  
The robot ignored its programmed directives. It would finish this mission. Both its primary target and the female appeared to be near unconscious. It would finish them both before activating a self-destruct protocol.  
  
It slowly maneuvered to be in front of the girl. She was the most dangerous, it had decided. It lifted its clawed right arm and prepared to slash her throat open.  
  
~Stop.~  
  
It hesitated. Then it again prepared to make the cut.  
  
~Stop I forbid it.~  
  
The machine was confused by this voice in its programming.  
  
~You shall not kill this young man or woman.~ The robots arm lowered against its will.  
  
It again attempted to move, but it came under assault by a force it had never encountered before, an electronic entity much stronger than itself. It was soon buried in computations and conflicting directives that would take it hours to resolve.  
  
**********  
  
Clark moved to the robot's side, where it looked like it was going to attack Chloe. Inexplicably, it lowered its arm, and seemed to be hesitating. The green light on is "head" turned red, then to a cool blue color.  
  
The round part of the robot, in front of where the battery used to be began displaying symbols on a built-in black screen.  
  
"What the heck?" Clark said to himself in wonder. One symbol caught his eye. It was the symbol he remembered seeing on his ship. It looked like a diamond with a figure 8 inside it.  
  
The symbols began to slow until only a line of text remained, in English.  
  
~Do not be afraid. I have subdued the machine.~  
  
Clark read the text and was understandably confused. "What?"  
  
~I have subdued the machine. It shall not move anytime soon.~  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
~That is difficult to explain. Before we begin I ask that you detach me from this murderous device.~  
  
Clark watched as the screen showed a small video clip on how to do just that. A few minutes later he was holding a silver cylinder about the size of a small vacuum cleaner. Text again reappeared.  
  
~There were three distinct entities inside that machine. The original programming scientists installed when creating it. The corrupted code that was formed by the kryptonite battery. And me.~  
  
"But who are you?" he asked, as Chloe began to wake up from her slumber. She came over to see Clark talking to a part of the robot.  
  
~I am the processing core of a survey probe launched 60 years ago from a planet in the gamma epsilon sector of space. The probe was surveying Earth when a bizarre electromagnetic pulse disabled all of its systems. We orbited the planet for who knows how long. The next thing I remember, I am installed in a killing machine designed by a company in the city 250 miles to the north.~  
  
Chloe read the scrolling text. "You don't talk like a computer program."  
  
The text reappeared. ~You don't talk like a random collection of nucleic acids assembled in a meaningless fashion to create sentient life, yet you are."  
  
Chloe recognized when she had been snarked, but she took it gracefully.  
  
~My power is running low. Please use this diagram to fashion a battery to power me.. I have more information about your species.~  
  
It hesitated, the screen blinking.  
  
~Claarrrrkkkk.~  
  
The display showed a diagram. No text was forthcoming.  
  
Chloe looked up at Clark. She helped him drag the robot into the barn.  
  
Tbc...  
  
Authors note: I hope people like it. It was very difficult to write and I'm not sure where I'm going since the robot is out of commission. Review and submit story ideas as to where to go. The probe is a cool idea, obviously sent from Krypton. Now Clark can learn more about himself!  
  
Oh, and I'd like to thank all my reviewers, especially my most loyal fan- atics: Autumngold, ChloeKent, Big Albowski  
  
Review please! 


	11. Whats Kryptonite?

Chloe  
  
Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews. Because everyone seems to love the story, I have decided to continue typing until the muse runs out.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville. I also don't own Star Trek, Southpark, or any of the other shows I really like, even though they have nothing to do with this fanfic. Someday, however, they will be mine!  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Martha Kent was finishing preparing dinner when Clark came into the kitchen. She was shocked when she noticed his shirt was torn, blood oozing from three deep gashes that were over top of a giant purple bruise.  
  
"Clark, what on Earth happened?" she asked. Behind him was Chloe. She had four bullet holes in her dress and looked very disheveled.  
  
"Chloe!" Martha shouted, running to the girl's side. Chloe muttered that she was okay, while Clark called for his father.  
  
Jonathan entered the kitchen and took in the situation calmly.  
  
"Jesus Christ!" He immediately began checking over Clark's wounds and checking Chloe over as Clark explained.  
  
"We had just finished practicing in the side yard. I was tickling Chloe," Chloe blushed at his mention of their play. Clark's parents ignored it. "and it was standing in the distance. I noticed it after it fired a really big gun at me, which gave me this big bruise."  
  
Chloe interrupted him. "It stood about 5'5", was made of silver metal, and looked like it was decked out for war."  
  
"What? The guy was wearing armor?" Jonathan asked, confused.  
  
"No. It sounds crazy, but it was some kind of robot." Clark said. "Anyway, after shooting me, it came closer. It looked like it was going to fire again, so I destroyed its gun by bending the barrel."  
  
Jonathan nodded his head at the tactic. Sounded like a good idea to him.  
  
"It slashed me with its knife-like claws, which normally wouldn't have effected me, but it was powered by some sort of Meteor rock battery, which was making me weak as it came closer. The claws did this." He said, motioning to his chest wound, which Martha was wrapping while they talked.  
  
"Chloe hit it with her powers, but it attacked with a machine gun like weapon. I was under, I think, but Chloe." He was lost, tears in his eyes.  
  
Chloe touched his arm, before taking up the narrative. "I managed to stop several of the bullets, but the strain was too great. Several hit Clark, but apparently didn't effect him. Four hit me. I'm not bullet proof."  
  
Jonathan looked at her bullet-holed dress. There was no blood.  
  
"I came to," she continued, "when it was strangling Clark. The rock was keeping him weak, so he couldn't stop it. I lay there dying, unable to help him. Then I felt this tingling in my chest, like you get when your arms asleep? Next thing I'm aware of, I am floating in the air, looking at the robot kill Clark. I told it to stop, but it wouldn't, so I took Clark from it. It hurt my head, but I used more power than I ever have before, and tossed it around like a rag doll. Finally I pulled its battery and threw it as hard as I could."  
  
Clark tugged her into his lap, hugging her, as he took up the story. "I woke up to the robot trying to slash Chloe. She was unconscious, I guess from the strain of using her powers. It was going to kill her, but hesitated. Dad, it talked to me with text on a little screen. It said that it had a kind of "multiple personalities" but by taking the battery away, its sanity had taken over."  
  
"I agreed to try to help it get a new, non-meteor rock power source, and it said it would tell me more of my origins. However, I don't know how to make a battery for it." He shrugged his shoulders, in a loss for words.  
  
Jonathan thought about it for a moment, then said, "Clark, show me the robot."  
  
**********  
  
Everyone stumbled out to the barn. Clark waited for everyone, then opened the barn door. It was normally open, but he closed it to keep the robot hidden. Inside, the robot body lay prone, lifeless. Next to it stood the processor core, the display still showing the diagram for a power supply.  
  
Jonathan looked over the robot body; noting the armor, strong looking limbs, and weapons. Clark motioned towards the core and Jonathan looked at it. On the side of the display, beside the schematic was the symbol Clark had recognized.  
  
"Clark, wasn't this symbol on your ship." Clark nodded. Jonathan looked at the core closely. "This wasn't part of the robot, was it? The metals are all different. The robot was built around this."  
  
"It wasn't originally a weapon. It looks like a probe off Star Trek." Martha said. The guys looked at her. "What?" She asked. "Can't I have interests outside the kitchen?" She glared at them, daring them to speak.  
  
The guys wisely left this alone, closely examining the core. The diagram could be zoomed, panned, and tilted, and although the writing was in English, it clearly wasn't in layman. Jonathan couldn't make heads or tails of it either.  
  
Clark looked at his father. "Dad, what about Lex?"  
  
"Absolutely not. That's out of the question. We will not bring a Luthor in here and tell him all of our secrets. I don't mind him being your friend, but he will not be a party to this."  
  
"Well, what do you suggest we do, huh? Take the probe into the storm cellar with the Ship? Hide them together forever?" Clark was upset and didn't see the look on his father's face.  
  
"What did you just say?" His father had a weird, intent look on his face.  
  
Clarks face fell. His father rarely yelled. He didn't have to. Disappointment in his son was a far more potent weapon.  
  
"I'm sorry Dad. It's just been a stressful day."  
  
"No, never mind that. What did you just say?" Jonathan was after something.  
  
"Take the probe in the storm cellar with the ship?" Clark asked, unsure if that's what he meant. Jonathan was smiling at Clark.  
  
"Now that's a good idea. They both have that symbol, maybe they'll react to each other in some way. In the mean time, lets go bury the robot body. I don't like having it here on the farm, but I don't know where else to hide it that's safe."  
  
**********  
  
Clark gave the body a final push and with a loud clash, the robot fell into the deep hole he had dug in the south pasture. Clark looked, around, not really expecting anyone to hear the crash in the dead of night. Plus the south pasture was pretty far from anyone else's property. It normally lay fallow, but this year they were going to plant some wheat there, so the furrowed ground would not look weird if they plowed after hiding the robot.  
  
Clark sighed and grabbed the shovel, preparing to fill the hole. To hide the body well, they had dug over 10 feet deep. It was a big hole, and there was a mountain of dirt to put back.  
  
Chloe came up beside Clark. She had changed clothes after taking a shower, and felt much better afterwards, considering she almost died. again. She was wearing cut-off shorts and a T-shirt, tied up to show her stomach. She put her arm around Clark, looking into the hole.  
  
"Big hole," she said.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Gonna fill it up?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Chloe concentrated on the mound of earth. It must have been at least 6 feet high and was about 8 feet around at the base. It started to shiver, small avalanches of dirt cascading down the side, before the entire mound collapsed, pouring into the hole. After the cloud of dust settled, Clark just had to smooth out the dirt. He sprayed some water over it to help cover the disturbed surface, then turned to Chloe.  
  
"Thanks for your help. You saved me about 15 minutes of work."  
  
"No problem. I expect a reward, though." She smiled at him.  
  
"A reward huh? What type of reward?"  
  
"You figure it out!" She said, smiling.  
  
He picked her up in his arms, kissing her. They spun around as he slid her down to stand on her own feet, still kissing. They heard a noise behind them and turned to see Jonathan walk up. He was blushing slightly, pretending he hadn't seen his son and Chloe kissing. He was proud Clark had finally found someone to spend his time with, someone who liked him and shared his secret.  
  
"You guys did a good job. Let's get some food, and we'll take the probe down to the storm cellar. After that, we should get to sleep."  
  
**********  
  
They headed to the barn, where Clark grabbed the probe. Everyone went down to the storm cellar, Clark in the lead. He waited while his father opened the storm doors, then carried it down the stairs. When Clark reached the ship, Chloe pulled the tarp off and Clark set the probe down next to it on the ground.  
  
Everyone waited with baited breath. No one dared move lest they miss what was going to happen.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Chloe turned to look at Clark inquisitively, as Clark looked at his father.  
  
"Well, I guess that's a dead end." Clark said. Everyone turned, waiting expectantly.  
  
Nothing happened still.  
  
"Let's get some sleep."  
  
They slowly walked back to the house, exhaustion catching up with them. They went to their bedrooms and collapsed.  
  
*********  
  
Shortly after they left the cellar, the ship started glowing blue. The probe started glowing as well. After the light reached blinding proportions, it subdued to a gentle light. Outlined on the ship was a previously unseen port, and from it snaked a cable as thick as a man's arm. It plugged into an equivalent port on the side of the probe.  
  
The ship's light began to fade, but the probe's backlit screen lit up, the diagram of the power source fading as text appeared.  
  
~That was fast. Oh, a ship. Excellent.~  
  
~Hello?~  
  
~No one's there.~  
  
After that, the probe went into a hibernation mode.  
  
**********  
  
Clark rolled over in his sleep, a nightmare disturbing his rest. He dreamed he was chasing a man who had kidnapped Chloe. As fast as Clark could run, he couldn't catch the kidnapper. When he got close, the man shot Clark with a gun that hurt, regardless of the fact that Clark was never hurt by guns (the robot's 50 cal be the exception!)  
  
Clark stumbled when he was shot, and as he came to his feet, he saw another robot approaching him. This one was larger than the one they fought on the farm, and much more heavily armored. He ran to it, grasping its arms. A contest of strength began as they matched muscles against servomotors. Clark felt he was beginning to win, overcoming the feeling of the meteor rock when another robot came out of the woods behind the first.  
  
Followed by another, and another. Soon Clark was surrounded by 10 of the machines. In the dream, Clark screamed as they reached for him.  
  
*********  
  
Clark sat up, his chest heaving from his dream. Beside him on the bed was Chloe. They were supposed to be staying in their own separate beds, but lately she had been joining him, and his parents hadn't said anything, so.  
  
He sighed, knowing she was safe. He lay next to her, his arm draped across her, pulling her against him. He inhaled her unique scent, kissing the back of her head. Her presence comforted him, and he slept soundly for the remainder of the night.  
  
**********  
  
Jonathan woke up much earlier than everyone else. He usually got up early to do his chores. This morning, he decided to go have another look at the probe.  
  
Walking down the storm cellar stairs, he was shocked when he saw blue light coming from the probe and some sort of wire connecting the two.  
  
"Clark," he said. "Clark!" he yelled louder. A few seconds later Clark came zipping down the stairs.  
  
"Dad?" He stopped in shock when he saw that the probe was lit up. "What happened?"  
  
"I dunno. It must have happened sometime in the night. Let's take a look."  
  
Jonathan walked over towards the probe. As he approached, the screen lit up and scrolled some text.  
  
~Good morning.~  
  
"Ah.. Good morning. Feel better?" Jonathan blushed when he realized it sounded rather inane to ask a machine if it felt better.  
  
~I'm operating much better, if that's what you mean. The ship will have the ability to sustain me for a number of years.~  
  
"How many?" Clark asked, curious.  
  
~1,365 years, give or take a decade.~  
  
"Oh."  
  
Jonathan looked at the probe. "So how did you come to be part of a rampaging robot?" Clark listened, or rather read intently.  
  
~As I explained to Clark, I am the processing core of a survey probe launched 60 years ago from a planet in the gamma epsilon sector of space. The probe was surveying Earth when a bizarre electromagnetic pulse disabled all of its systems. We orbited the planet for who knows how long.  
  
I believe we were picked up by an orbiting vehicle and brought to Earth. A man named Gromwell used his company to investigate our technology. I was the only surviving component after the pulse.  
  
It took his team years, but they finally managed to patch into my systems. My computer processes are almost centuries more advanced than your own. They didn't know that I was Sentient. Their programming just pushed mine to the side, unaware that it was there. At first, I just watched, an impartial observer. If I acted, I would be disturbing the natural evolution of a planet.~  
  
Clark snorted, thinking of the "Prime Directive" from Star Trek.  
  
~It was shortly thereafter that they began attaching hardware to my exterior. I was loaded into the mechanical body, and then I was the robot. I had decided to take over and escape when they loaded the kryptonite battery, which interfered with my ability to control myself, much less the robot body.~  
  
"Kryptonite?" Clark asked. "You mean the meteor rock?"  
  
~Yes, it would have fallen as meteorites. They came from a planet in the Diagosi system, some 240 light-years away. My creators had peaceful trade relations with the people of Krypton up till the planet was destroyed by its sun, which inexplicably went Nova.~  
  
Clark and Jonathan were silent, thinking of what they've read.  
  
~Which leads me to question, why are you here, son of Krypton?~  
  
**********  
  
With a bang, the security doors slowly opened, allowing a wave of copper scented air to escape. Four members of a security team entered and spread out, securing the location. All were armed with semi-automatic weapons.  
  
Once the location was secure, a man in a well tailored black suit entered. He surveyed the destruction, chomping on an unlit cigar. Bodies of the laboratory staff lay where they had fallen, some already partially decaying. The lab had automatically secured itself, so no one had investigated the accident.  
  
Destroyed equipment littered the floor, along with debris and human remains. However, after a search, there was no sign of the Destroyer.  
  
"Activate the homing beacon. We need to find where it went and capture it."  
  
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket, flipping it open.  
  
"Kill anyone who may have come in contact with it."  
  
Mr. Gromwell chomped heavily on his unlit cigar while he dialed a secure connection.  
  
"Get me Lionel Luthor."  
  
"Mr. Luthor, we have a bit of a problem, sir."  
  
TBC...  
  
Authors note: I finally managed to continue my story that thought it was done, but it didn't feel finished. We investigate the origins of the robot, and what does Lionel have to do with it?  
  
Where has Lex been for so long?  
  
Please review!  
  
Draconious 


	12. Kryptonions and God

Chloe  
  
Clark/Chloe, Lana/??  
  
Authors Note: After a long break, I have decided to try my hand at writing Chloe again. Hope I can get over the blockage I had before.  
  
**********  
  
*Denotes thoughts*  
  
Clark placed the stereo speaker on the ground next to the processor core, which he and his father were now calling the "probe" as it was easier to say. After he uncoiled the speaker wire, he looked around for a place to put it. The smooth metal of the probe offered no ports.  
  
As he searched for the port, a pair of familiar red and black speaker plugs appeared on the backside of the probe. It would take a while to get used to the morphing alien technology.  
  
Twisting the wires tight, he slid them into the plugs.  
  
A crackle of static, and then the probe had a voice.  
  
"Ah, that's much better." The probe said. Curiously, it seemed to have a slight English accent.  
  
"At least we can listen now instead of reading novels on your 2 X 3 inch screen. I was getting a headache." Clark said. After finding that the probe had connected to Clark's ship to power itself, Jonathan had gone to get Martha and Chloe.  
  
Clark had said something along the lines of "I wish you had a voice..." when the screen had asked if it could have a speaker, which was beyond its power to replicate.  
  
Clark turned as he heard footsteps on the wooden stairs of the storm cellar. Chloe came down first, followed shortly by Jonathan and Martha.  
  
"Well everyone's here." The probe said. Jonathan and Martha jumped, hearing the probe talk for the first time.  
  
"So you came from a society that traded with ... Clark's people?" Martha asked the probe hesitantly.  
  
"Yes. We had enjoyed a peaceful coexistence for a number of centuries. Unfortunately, as I was saying earlier, their existence ended when the sun of their system went supernova. I understood there were no survivors. Apparently, I was wrong." The ships small screen showed a blue-green planet with white clouds orbiting a red giant sun. It looked beautiful.  
  
The ship waited for everyone to watch the recreation of the planet Krypton, then asked a question of his own, "Tell me, how did a son of Krypton come to be here?"  
  
Clark looked to his dad for confirmation as Chloe wrapped her arms around him. Jonathan nodded and began the tale of how Clark came to live with the Kents.  
  
**********  
  
The probe absorbed their story, amazed at the odds that a survivor of the advanced race of Krypton, a toddler at that, managed to find a loving family among the natives of Earth who accepted him as their own.  
  
After their story was ended, the Kents decided to go get some food to eat. Clark decided he wasn't hungry and stayed to talk with the probe some more. Chloe was sitting behind him, her armed wrapped around his back and her head lying on his shoulder. (So she was sitting on something to make up the height difference, okay?)  
  
"Tell me more about my people. What were they like? Were they aggressive, militaristic? Do you know of my father?" Clark asked.  
  
"The Kryptonians once had a very strong military, from what my records describe. They spread across their section of the galaxy, and because their technology was much more advanced than the technology of the neighboring species. They were pretty much unstoppable. It was lucky for everyone that they were mainly interested in peace and trade."  
  
"Bear in mind that this was almost one thousand years ago. They soon lost the desire to expand and explore. The wars and squabbles of other, less developed races soon wearied the Kryptonians. They fell back within their borders and spent more time exploring culturally and scientifically. They still defended their space, but much of the surrounding area forgot they were even there."  
  
"Except for your creators..." Clark interrupted.  
  
"Yes, my creators long had their relationship with the Kryptonians. As traders and explorers, we continued to bring new scientific curiosities to their attention, as well as goods that they would wish to purchase. My people were deeply saddened when a trade vessel discovered an asteroid belt where the system had been. It was later that I was commissioned with the scout ship and sent this way."  
  
Chloe looked confused for a second. "But how could that be? You said you orbited the Earth for 60 years, yet Clark is only as old as I am. If he left Krypton just before it blew up and you knew about the explosion before you left..." Chloe stopped, confused by the paradox of it all.  
  
The probed hesitated before responding. "It would be too complicated to explain... needless to say, when Clarks ship traveled to Earth, its engines shielded him from the temporal effects of travelling faster than light. The probe I can part of was not."  
  
Clark jumped in... he had watched Star Trek with his mother before. "You mean you travelling into the past when launched from your planet?"  
  
"Well, not in the since that your scientists think of it... but yes, we traveled into the past, arriving before you had even left Krypton."  
  
Clark jumped up, startling Chloe into letting go. "You could have saved them! Your people could have traveled in time to arrive before the accident, warning them to get off the planet!" He was raging, upset that his people had died needlessly.  
  
"As I said, it was not quite like your scientists predict it. As good as your physics models are, they are not perfect. When your people discover faster than light travel, you will also discover the need to protect against actions just like you are asking for."  
  
Clark had to keep from hitting something. *This is my entire species we are talking about here!*  
  
"Clark... Clark... If we would have tried it, sent a crew back in time to prevent the people of Krypton from dying, they would have been stranded there. There would have been no way for them to come back to the timeline where the Kryptonians were dead. It would be signing their death warrants. Besides, messing with temporal events has been banned for nearly 3,000 years. Its just too dangerous."  
  
Clark sat beside Chloe, his hope giving out along with his rage.  
  
"Besides, the people of Krypton must have known of the upcoming disaster, or at least some of them had too." The probe said.  
  
Clark looked up at the cylinder shaped computer. "And why is that?"  
  
He looked over at Chloe, wanting to see her expression. She smiled at him, somewhat weakly because of his foul mood.  
  
"Because, son of Krypton, you are here, are you not?"  
  
**********  
  
Chloe opened the can of soda, taking a big drink before handing it to Clark. She leaned against the fridge as Clark drank most of the soda down.  
  
"Clark, I'm sorry. I know you got upset today, talking to the probe." She smiled at him, watching him rub the cool can across his hot forehead. The temperature in the storm cellar had risen throughout the day, with both the probe and ship giving off heat, as well as the human guests.  
  
"It's alright Chloe. It's not your fault. I was just hoping that somehow, I wasn't the only one. I just went from being the only one of my kind on the Earth to being the only one of my kind anywhere."  
  
"Your not alone Clark." She wrapped him in her arms, pressing herself against him. "I'm right here with you." She reached up to give him a kiss, as Jonathan walked into the kitchen. She halted her maneuver at the last second.  
  
"Clark." He looked at his son sternly. "You're going about this the wrong way. Don't think that you're the only survivor of an extinct race. Think about it this way... You survived! Everyone else is dead, but you survived! Every day that you live, that you breathe the air here on the farm, or you kiss Chloe and make me blush, you are living a gift that was given to you by God."  
  
Clark looked at his father. "Do you think God created my people dad?"  
  
Jonathan let out a deep sigh. "Well, that's a loaded question son. If you asked the Minister at the church he'd probably say that God created us in his image, so life on other planets couldn't exist." He smiled at his son.  
  
"We know, however, that there is life on the other planets, so either our God created life elsewhere after he was done here, or there are more than one Creator out in the universe. That statement alone would have the Minister up in arms..."  
  
"Thanks dad. You've given me a lot to think about." His dad patted him on the shoulder before walking into the living room.  
  
"Come on, Clark... Lets go for a walk in the field, watch the sun set." Grabbing his hand, Chloe pulled Clark out the back door and towards the back pasture, which had lay fallow at the top of the ridge. It offered a great view of the sunset.  
  
**********  
  
Sitting on Clark's lap, watching the sun set, was as close to Heaven as Chloe could imagine right now. They were not making out, wrestling with each other on the blanket they had brought with them. Instead they were just absorbing each other, basking in the presence of the one they love.  
  
The sun set and the stars came out. Chloe and Clark picked out constellations and imagined what other Civilizations could exist out there that no one had ever heard of.  
  
It was a wonderfully peaceful moment...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
Until three bullets struck, two hitting Clark in the chest, one passing right through Chloe's arm.  
  
TBC.....  
  
Authors Notes: Hopefully I got over the writer's block effectively. I think I have the story back on track. However, some reviews will make sure the story keeps on rolling...  
  
Also, I am starting to write a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fanfic for those who are interested. It takes place after the episode "Chosen" in a new city with a new Slayer and friends. 


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